Chasten shares photo of Buttigieg’s premature baby after Pence mocked Pete
The White House has demanded an apology from former Vice President Mike Pence after he mocked the Department of Transportation. Pete Buttigieg for going on ‘maternity’ leave.
Meanwhile, Chasten Buttigieg, Pete’s husband, shared a photo of Pete holding their premature baby.
‘An honest question for you @Mike_Pence after your attempted prank this weekend. If his grandchild were born prematurely and was placed on a ventilator at two months old, with her tiny fingers wrapped around his while the monitors beeped in the background, where would you be? Chasten wrote on Twitter along with the photo.
Buttigieg and her husband Chasten welcomed twins Joseph August (called Gus) and Penelope Rose in August 2021.
Over the weekend, Pence told the annual Gridiron dinner in Washington that Buttigieg, who is gay, took “maternity leave” while Americans suffered from airline troubles in 2021. At the time, Buttigieg’s adoptive twins they had been born prematurely and suffered from health problems. .
Buttigieg and her husband Chasten welcomed twins Joseph August (called Gus) and Penelope Rose in August 2021.
Several Republicans mocked the transportation secretary for taking at least three months of paid leave as President Joe Biden tried to pass his infrastructure bill on Capitol Hill and US seaports.
“Pete is the only person in human history to have had a child, and everyone else has postpartum depression,” Pence joked at dinner.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the comment and demanded an apology.
“The former vice president’s homophobic joke about Secretary Buttigieg was offensive and inappropriate, all the more so because he treated women suffering from postpartum depression as a joke,” he said in a statement. “He should apologize to women and LGBTQ people, who have the right to be treated with dignity and respect.”
The Gridiron Dinner attracts hundreds of journalists and politicians each year and features skits and comedic speeches from renowned guests. It also drew derision from Democrats, including Sec. of State Antony Blinken and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short, derided criticism of the comments as “false outrage.”
“The hypocrisy is especially rich considering that his own Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, joked that he longed for the ‘old days’ when ‘the Jews did all the work,’” Short said. “The White House would do well to focus less on placating the police and more on bank failures, plane near-misses, train derailments and the ongoing supply chain crisis.”
Pence joked at the Gridiron Dinner that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took ‘maternity leave’
Pence’s joke about the transportation secretary was overshadowed by his bold criticism of former President Trump.
“President Trump was wrong,” Pence said. ‘He had no right to annul the election. And his reckless words put my family and everyone on Capitol Hill in danger that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump to account.”
“History will hold Donald Trump accountable for January 6,” Pence told the crowd of his former boss.
Pence also criticized those who downplayed January 6 in an apparent jab at Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, who obtained archival security footage of President Kevin McCarthy and aired non-violent moments inside the Capitol during his show.
Chasten, left, supported her husband Pete Buttigieg after former Vice President Mike Pence attacked him for going on “maternity leave.”
Buttigieg appears with his twins in a photo released on November 24, 2022.
“Make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace,” Pence said. And it is a mockery of decency to portray him otherwise.
Pence is believed to be poised to jump into the presidential race in 2024.
He also praised the media for reporting on January 6.
“We were able to stay at our post partly because you stayed at your post,” he told reporters covering the insurrection. “The American people know what happened that day because you never stopped reporting.”
After speaking with Washington experts and the media over the weekend, Pence will campaign in New Hampshire on Thursday and Iowa on Saturday.