As Twitchy told you yesterday, likely Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg has apparently decided that the way to American voters’ hearts is baselessly smearing Mike Pence as a homophobic bigot.

Well, just in case he wasn’t clear enough that he’s all in with the slimeball approach, he’s doubling down today, suggesting that the fact that Mike Pence has shown him nothing but kindness is just a smokescreen for Pence’s desire to inflict harm on the gay community:

People will often be polite to you in person, while advancing policies that harm you and your family. You will be polite to them in turn, but you need not stand for such harms. Instead, you push back, honestly and emphatically. So it goes, in the public square. — Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) April 9, 2019

Speaking of the public square, it’s good of Buttigieg to go public with his strategy before he officially gets into the presidential race. That way, everyone knows what a nasty piece of work he is ahead of time.

So you're saying you're a two-faced backstabber. https://t.co/LVtBON4hqN — Jay Tee Ell Oh Ell (@jtLOL) April 9, 2019

You have not pushed back honestly against Pence’s policies. You have maligned his religious beliefs and character. https://t.co/XfnD91d8yj — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 9, 2019

Let me decode this for you: Buttigieg is vowing to keep accusing people of being bigots even if they haven’t said anything bigoted https://t.co/2IQ8e5vUM5 — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 9, 2019

Well, if Pete Buttigieg can’t fulfill his POTUS dream on his merits, he’ll just have to find another way. That way happens to be incredibly dishonest, but whatevs, right?

Earlier an aide close to Pence told me the two always had "a warm working relationship" but said that @PeteButtigieg "is now using @VP to raise his name ID." https://t.co/6y7ezKmnBb — Philip Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) April 9, 2019

Kinda seems like it ??‍♀️ https://t.co/kW57WObnv5 — Ericka Andersen (@ErickaAndersen) April 9, 2019

Truth and integrity be damned. Mayor Pete’s got his eyes on the prize and that’s all that matters.

This seems like a really bad excuse for attacking someone who you didn't seem to have an issue with until you were running for President… Especially since your attack didn't really mention policy. — (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) April 9, 2019

Buttigieg isn’t interested in a policy debate. In fact, he doesn’t seem interested in any sort of substantive debate at all. Way to elevate the discourse, Mayor.

This raises important questions. Can we oppose someone’s policies, or even attitudes, without attacking their character? And is there room for good-faith disagreement on these issues? For those seeking to persuade and change hearts, I hope the answers are ‘yes’ and ‘yes.’ https://t.co/5Bj5jSFR27 — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 9, 2019

For Pete Buttigieg, it seems, the answers are resounding nos.