South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegOn The Money: Retail sales drop in latest sign of weakening economy | Fast-food workers strike for minimum wage | US officials raise concerns over Mexico's handling of energy permits Buttigieg confirmation hearing slated for Thursday James Murdoch predicts 'a reckoning' for media after Capitol riot MORE on Wednesday responded to a message from a deaf supporter in sign language, thanking him for the American Sign Language (ASL) sign he created for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
“Hi Andy — thank you for your support, thanks," Buttigieg signed in a video posted on Twitter, according to a translation from a Daily Beast reporter.
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) April 24, 2019
Translation: “Hi Andy — thank you for your support, thanks.”
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) April 24, 2019
A Deaf friend’s verdict: “Not bad!!!” https://t.co/I083EJ4xBM
The tweet was sent about a week after Anderson Pleasants shared an ASL sign name he crafted for Buttigieg.
"I just came up with the sign name for @PeteButtigieg Given his new logo has the imagery of a bridge and 'build bridges, not walls,' his sign name is P 'bridged' across the chest to B!" Pleasants, who describes himself as deaf and hard of hearing on his Twitter profile, said in a tweet accompanied by a video of him making the sign.
I just came up with the sign name for .@PeteButtigieg
— Anderson “Andy” Pleasants (@pleasantandy) April 15, 2019
Given his new logo has the imagery of a bridge and “build bridges, not walls”, his sign name is P “bridged” across the chest to B! pic.twitter.com/2xsd1nQt45
Pleasants said Wednesday that he teared up after seeing Buttigieg's message.
"It means so much to see a major Presidential candidate actively reach across the communication divide to include those like me, especially in a society where the burden of that divide so often rests on the Deaf individual," Pleasants tweeted.
I teared up.
— Anderson “Andy” Pleasants (@pleasantandy) April 24, 2019
It means so much to see a major Presidential candidate actively reach across the communication divide to include those like me, especially in a society where the burden of that divide so often rests on the Deaf individual.
Keep signing the sign & walking the walk! https://t.co/2aeLtZk2pq
The Hill has reached out to Buttigieg's campaign for further comment.
He also offered condolences in French to the people of Paris after the Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire earlier this month.
"To the people of France, I would like to say that Notre Dame Cathedral was like a gift to the human race. We share in the pain but we also thank you for this gift to civilization," he said to a French news outlet, according to a Business Insider translation.
Buttigieg reportedly speaks seven languages in addition to English: French, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Arabic, Maltese and Dari.
UPDATED 8:54 p.m.