Pete Buttigieg calls Jesus a 'refugee' in Christmas tweet, gets slammed for 'politicizing' religion
Pete Buttigieg was slammed on Wednesday by his followers after the South Bend Mayor described Jesus as a 'refugee' in his Christmas tweet. The 2020 Democratic contender has 1.5 million followers on Twitter.
"Today I join millions around the world in celebrating the arrival of divinity on earth, who came into this world not in riches but in poverty, not as a citizen but as a refugee. No matter where or how we celebrate, merry Christmas," Buttigieg wrote in his tweet.
The mayor faced backlash from hundreds of his followers who accused him of factual inaccuracy.
A prominent pastor, Dr Darrell Scott, was among the first to condemn Buttigieg's tweet, writing: "When did you come up with THAT load of crap? Joseph was NOT a poor man, and Jesus did NOT come into this world as a refugee from heaven. Please stop."
Blogger-commentator Matt Walsh tweeted : "Joseph and Mary went to their ancestral home in Bethlehem for a census. In no sense did Jesus 'come into this world as a refugee. There's also no reason to think that Joseph was particularly impoverished. So nothing about this tweet is correct."
While various other Twitter users accused the South Bend Mayor of attempting to politicize the Christian holiday. "Don't confuse him [Buttigieg] with facts, he has a false narrative to push," one user wrote. Another complained that Buttigieg had to "make some virtue signaling political message out of Christmas."
Buttigieg's controversial tweet came just days after he announced an immigration plan which calls for an increase in the number of refugees to the United States. According to the plan, he is aiming to welcome at least 95,000 refugees into the country every year.
A practicing Episcopalian, the Mayor slammed conservative Christians for their hypocrisy in backing President Trump.
The Democrat, earlier this year, had told Meet The Press: "I can't believe that somebody that was caught writing hush money checks to adult film actresses is somebody they should be lifting up as the kind of person they want to be leading this nation." Buttigieg was referring to the President's alleged "hush money" payoff to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her about their affair.