The presidential candidate told BuzzFeed News' AM to DM how he hopes to get beyond being a "flavor of the month" in the primary, and how lacking his gaydar really is.

Richard Shiro / AP

Pete Buttigieg — the first openly gay presidential candidate from a major party — worries those who boycott Chick-fil-A because of its executives’ long opposition to gay marriage are inconsistent and “too sanctimonious” in their attempts to make a political point. “I just want to make sure we don’t overrate ourselves in terms of our ability to be pure in this regard,” Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said Wednesday during an interview with BuzzFeed News’ AM to DM. “If you’re turned off, as I am, by the political behavior of Chick-fil-A or their executives — if that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, so to speak, and you decide not to shop there, I’d certainly get it and I’d support that. But the reality is, we, I think, sometimes slip into a sort of virtue signaling in some cases where we’re not really being consistent. I mean, what about all the other places we get our chicken from?” Buttigieg’s comments came a day after he offered himself as a peacemaker between the gay community and the fast-food chain while on The Breakfast Club, a syndicated radio show. "I do not approve of their politics,” Buttigieg told listeners, “but I kind of approve of their chicken.”

.@PeteButtigieg discusses how he plans to avoid being just a "flavor of the month" 2020 candidate: "The most important thing is substance."

So does Buttigieg not buy into the boycott culture that has thrived on the progressive left? “I just want to make sure that we’re not too sanctimonious about this, because sometimes we put ourselves in this position of judgment that doesn’t really hold up under scrutiny,” he said Wednesday. “My belief is that we should primarily deal with political issues in the political arena.” Buttigieg, 37, stands out in the crowded Democratic field because of his age, his unlikely launching pad as mayor of a relatively small city, and his sexuality. But he’s not running as the gay candidate, though he acknowledged his experience as “being other” can be an asset. (He spoke passionately Wednesday, for example, in favor of a federal equality act that would prohibit discrimination against someone because they’re LGBTQ.) “I think I’d like it to be a distinction without a difference,” he told AM to DM of his sexuality. “I mean, I’m a whole person, right? And being gay is part of who I am. And I’m proud of who I am. I’m proud of my marriage. I’m proud of my husband. I’m also not running to be a candidate for any one constituency group. I’m mindful of the historic nature of being the first out candidate ever to compete for the presidency.” That doesn’t mean Buttigieg would necessarily be the first gay president if he wins. BuzzFeed News Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith asked about speculation that James Buchanan, the nation’s 15th president, was gay.

Mayor @PeteButtigieg when asked about James Buchanan being the first gay president: "My gaydar is not great to begin with and definitely doesn't work over long stretches of time."