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Vice President Mike Pence said that despite his bullish view of the state of the economy, he backs the president's calls for further rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

The comments came in response to a question from CNBC's Joe Kernen and will air 6 a.m. ET Thursday on "Squawk Box."

"If things are so great, I don't understand ... At this point, people say we don't have dry powder for the next slowdown. Why would we cut rates again?" Kernen asked.

"Well, you saw the consumer numbers that came out yesterday, though, Joe. I mean, there's no evidence of inflation in this economy," Pence responded.

In the 12-month period through March, consumer prices rose just under the Fed's inflation target of 2%, according to government figures released Wednesday. The Fed tracks a different benchmark, which also remains under 2%.

President Donald Trump and top economic advisor Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, have also called on the Fed to cut rates, though the central bank's decisions are generally made independently of political demands.

The minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, held in March, show that most Fed officials expect the benchmark rate to be left unchanged this year, though some noted that it "could shift in either direction" depending on economic conditions.

Pence said Wednesday that "this is a president that really does believe that this economy's only starting to grow."

"You look at nations around the world, nations that we compete with every day. And the president really does believe that 3% is a starting point in this economy," he said.

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Vice President Mike Pence backs Trump's call to lower rates

Furthermore, UN recognition of Mr Guaido would be deeply symbolic. His supporters hope that, by conferring an additional layer of legitimacy, the move would encourage wavering military members to defect.

The replacement of the Maduro delegation, headed since December 2017 by Oxford-educated Mr Moncada, Venezuelas former ambassador to the UK, could occur in two ways.

First, the group could present the credentials challenge to the nine-member UN Credentials Committee, which currently includes Antigua and Barbuda, Chile, China, Finland, Ghana, Palau, Russia, Sierra Leone, and the United States.

If a majority of the Credentials Committee voted to revoke the credentials of Mr Maduros delegation and to replace them with those of Mr Guaidos delegation, then the case would be brought before the General Assembly. A simple majority vote would be required there to affirm the Credential Committees recommendation.

Neither vote is subject to a veto by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Second, it would also be possible for the group of Member States to bypass the Credentials Committee entirely and to have the question considered as a separate agenda item of the General Assembly, where it would also require a majority vote.

The scale of the challenge was laid bare on Wednesday whenRaul Castro, who stepped down as Cuban president last year, used his first public appearance in three months to vow that his country would never abandon Venezuela.

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Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is not your typical candidate for president. Here are a few facts about 'Mayor Pete.' USA TODAY

WASHINGTON Pete Buttigieg got a heros welcome as he took the stage Sunday at a fundraising brunch for a group that supports LGBTQ candidates.

The improbable presidential campaign of the previously little-known, openly-gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has been generating significant buzz, positive headlines, and large crowds in important primary states like New Hampshire.

He arrived at the LGBTQ Victory Fund event fresh off an interview with NBCs "Meet the Press."

He was on the front page of that mornings Washington Post.

In Buttigieg, gay Americans see a symbol of acceptance, the headline read.

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But as he spoke to a packed hotel ballroom illuminated with lavender lights, Buttigieg shared something that hes still uncomfortable admitting.

"If you had offered me a pill to make me straight, I wouldve swallowed it before you had time to give me a sip of water," he said. "Its hard to face the truth that there were times in my life when, if you had shown me exactly what it was inside me that made me gay, I would have cut it out with a knife."

Opinion: Mayor Pete Buttigieg's countercultural approach to Christianity is what America needs now

Fortunately, there was no knife and no pill, Buttigieg said. Because then he would not have met his husband, Chasten, who has made him a better person, hesaid and their marriage hasmoved him closer to God. The message many gay people get that theres something wrong with them, he continued, is a message that puts you at war not only with yourself, but with your maker.

Thats the thing that I wish the Mike Pences of the worldwould understand, Buttigieg said of the vice president, who has opposed same-sex marriage. That if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at the LGBTQ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch on April 7, 2019 in Washington.(Photo: Keren Carrion, USA TODAY)

Its unusual for Democratic presidential candidates to talk about faith as often as Buttigieg does. Its groundbreaking that he uses his marriage to another man to illustrate his personal relationship with God.

Buttigieg gets easy applause lines at Democratic-friendly audiences, as he did Sunday, for criticizing Pence when he talks about being gay. (His first mention of Pence on Sunday, when Buttigieg described coming out while Pence was serving as Indianas governor, generated boos and hisses.)

Buttigieg has also drawn headlines by questioning how President Donald Trumps professed belief in God squares with his behavior and by challenging the support Trump receives from many evangelicalChristians.

I cant 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, he said on "Meet the Press" Sunday.

Jack Jacobson, an openly-gay member of the D.C. State Board of Education who attended the Victory Fund brunch, said Buttigiegs openness about his faith is part of what makes him an authentic candidate.

More: Who is running for president in 2020? An interactive guide

He talked about God in a room thats probably full of atheists. Thats what I am, Jacobson said. He does it unabashedly and in a way that doesnt come across as threatening, dismissive or negative.

Heather Trout, 43, who lives with her wife in a rural county in Virginia, said Buttigiegs faith is one reason shes contributed to his campaign.

Im really very excited about hearing a voice from the Christian left, she said before Buttigieg spoke. I think thats a voice not used in the Democratic Party for too long.

Likewise, Brian Tyler, said he knew he had to come to the brunch when he found out Buttigieg was coming.

Im a big fan, said Tyler, 24, a logistics coordinator. Republicans dont have a monopolyon faith.

Excitement in his official candidacy an announcement Buttigieg is expected to make this month in South Bend after spending weeks in an exploratory mode made it easy for the Victory Fund to fill the hotel ballroom with more than 800 people, according to organizers.

But as proud as attendees said they would be to see one of their own as a presidential nominee, many said they are excited about other candidates as well.

I would really like to vote for a woman, said Elizabeth Carswell, a retired federal government worker who appreciates Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warrens work for economic justice. But he brings a lot that is making me look at him.

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay rights advocacy group, has said Buttigieg is one of many pro-equality candidates in the race.

California Sen. Kamala Harris and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker recently spoke at a major HRC dinner in Los Angeles.

Buttigiegs husband, Chasten who has been getting a lot of media attention of his own lately addressed an HRC gathering in Houston on Saturday.

Never underestimate what can happen when you agree to go on a date with a cute guy from South Bend, Indiana, he said, calling his marriage to Pete the adventure of a lifetime.

I now live in a world where people take photos of me in the deodorant aisle in the grocery story, he said. I could be the first man in history to pick out the White House china.

Chasten Buttigieg, right, listens as his husband, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, speaks at the LGBTQ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch on April 7, 2019 in Washington.(Photo: Keren Carrion, USAT)

The Victory Fund had planned to stay focused on candidates for 2019 races before wading into the presidential contest. (The group is on track to help triple from two to six the number of openly-lesbianmayors leading major cities.) But Victory Fund President Annise Parker hinted Sunday that the group will make an exception and endorse Buttigieg after heofficially becomes a candidate.

We are not going to look over 2019 and jump to 2020 except in maybe one instance, Parker told the crowd. We knew he was something special. Now the rest of the world is catching up.

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Pete Buttigieg on God, being gay and Mike Pence

Vice President Mike Pence and Pete Buttigieg (AP)

Vice President Mike Pence fired back at Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg after the South Bend, Ind., mayor criticized the vice president for his belief that homosexuality is a choice.

"He said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and about me personally. And he knows better. He knows me," Pence told CNBC in an interview scheduled to air Thursday morning. "But I get it. You know, its look, again, 19 people running for president on that side in a party thats sliding off to the left. And theyre all competing with one another for how much more liberal they are."

Buttigieg, who is openly gay, discussed his sexual orientation during an event hosted by the LGBTQ Victory Fund last Sunday, saying: "If me being gay was a choice, it was made far, far above my pay grade ... Thats the thing that I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand that if you got a problem with who I am your problem is not with me, your quarrel sir, is with my creator."

Pence, who was Indiana's governor when Buttigieg came out as gay during his mayoral re-election campaign in 2015, noted that he had implemented the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling that made gay marriage legal in all 50 states.

"But," the vice president added, "I have my Christian values. My family and I have a view of marriage thats informed by our faith. And we stand by that. But that doesnt mean that were critical of anyone else who has a different point of view."

Pence's wife, Karen, told The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio on Tuesday that her husband and Buttigieg had "always had a good relationship," adding: "I think its helping Pete to get some notoriety by saying that about the vice president."

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She continued, "I think in our country we need to understand you shouldnt be attacked for what your religious beliefs are and I think kids need to learn that at a young age that this is okay what faith people have, we dont attack them for their faith."

In an apparent response to Karen Pence, Buttigieg tweeted: "Peoplewill 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."

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Buttigieg's recent rise in the 2020 race has been anchored in a steady stream of attacks against Pence, the former Indiana governor who had a steady working relationship with the mayor during his time as the head of the state.

Buttigieg, however, has fired up Democratic audiences by attacking Pence's conservative views on the LGBTQ community. Buttigieg, who is gay, also slammed Pence during a CNN town hall last month, questioning the vice president's faith because of his work with the Trump administration.

"They've always had a great relationship," Karen Pence said on Fox News host Brian Kilmeade's radio show on Tuesday. "It's funny because I don't think the vice president does have a problem with him, but I think it's helping Pete to get some notoriety by saying that about the vice president."

The comment comes after Alyssa Farah, Pence's spokeswoman, tweeted that Pence -- as governor -- responded to the mayor's coming out in 2015 by saying he holds Buttigieg "in the highest personal regard. I see him as a dedicated public servant and a patriot."

Don Emmert/Martin H. Simon/Getty Images Karen Pence responded to that on Tuesday.

"I'm just like, 'Pete, did you not like that,' because that's what the vice president said about him," she said. "So what's the problem with that?"

Buttigieg appeared to respond to the pushback from Pence's orbit on Tuesday, tweeting, "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."

Buttigieg, most recently, targeted Pence at a fundraiser for the LGBTQ organization Victory Fund on Sunday.

"If me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade," Buttigieg said. "And that's the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand. That if you got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me -- your quarrel, sir, is with my creator."

Buttigieg's comments came hours after he made critical comments about evangelical voters' support of President Donald Trump during an appearance on "Meet The Press."

"It's something that really frustrates me because the hypocrisy is unbelievable," Buttigieg said. "Here you have somebody who not only acts in a way that is not consistent with anything that I hear in scripture in church."

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Feud between Pete Buttigieg and Mike Pence escalates