Rush Limbaugh Says Trump Told Him to 'Never Apologize' for Going After Pete Buttigieg's Sexuality

Limbaugh said last week that America was "still not ready" to elect an openly gay president and that President Trump would "have fun" with Buttigieg over it

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty; Drew Angerer/Getty; Alex Wong/Getty

Rush Limbaugh is doubling down on his controversial comments about Pete Buttigieg‘s sexuality and electability — and he says he’s backed by the White House.

During his radio show on Monday, the popular conservative political commentator, 69, responded to the backlash directed toward his recent remarks about openly gay Democratic hopeful Buttigieg, 38, that disparaged him for being gay.

“A … gay guy kissing his husband onstage next to ‘Mr. Man’ Donald Trump — what’s going to happen there?” Limbaugh said on air last week, also adding that America was “still not ready” to elect an LGBTQ president.

Limbaugh — who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this month after revealing he was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer — now claims that President Trump, 73, reached out to him to tell him to stand by his statements.

He also said he had “no idea” the comments had “bubbled up” and made headlines.

“Hell, the president even called me about this,” he said on his show, according to The Hill. “[Trump] said: ‘Rush, I just got to tell you something. Never apologize. Don’t ever apologize.’ ”

From left: Rush Limbaugh and First Lady Melania Trump at the State of the Union. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Trump recently said during an appearance the Roadkill podcast, hosted by Geraldo Rivera, that he himself would vote for a gay president if given the option.

“I think so. I think there would be some that wouldn’t [vote for a gay candidate], and I wouldn’t be among that group to be honest with you,” he said, according to Politico.

Buttigieg’s sexuality “doesn’t seem to be hurting him very much but … there would be a group that probably wouldn’t. But you or I wouldn’t be in that group,” Trump told Rivera.

In his original criticism of Buttigieg and the 2020 election, Limbaugh implied last week that Trump would “have fun” going head-to-head with the openly gay candidate, whom he nicknamed “Booty Judge.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories

Chasten (left) and Pete Buttigieg. Matt Rourke/AP/Shutterstock

During an appearance on Fox News Sunday over the weekend, Buttigieg said he would be “saddened” if voters align with Limbaugh’s way of thinking when it comes to him and husband Chasten’s relationship.

“I am in a faithful, loving and committed marriage,” he said. “I’m proud of my marriage. And I’m proud of my husband.”

Buttigieg added that he was “not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Donald J. Trump as the moral as well as political leader of the United States.” (Both Limbaugh and Trump have been married multiple times.)

“America has moved on and we should have politics of belonging that welcomes everybody,” Buttigieg said. “That’s what the American people are for. And I am saddened for what the Republican Party has become if they embrace that kind of homophobic rhetoric.”