Chasten Buttigieg says Mike Pence joking about husband Pete’s ‘maternity’ leave ‘goes against’ his ‘family values’: Describes to The View how their son was on a ventilator – and claims the VP did not apologize
- Chasten Buttigieg has sued former Vice President Mike Pence for making a “maternity leave” joke about her husband, Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg
- Pence joked the country had ‘postpartum depression’ because of travel issues that arose while Pete Buttigieg was on ‘maternity leave’
- Chasten said on Thursday: ‘When your child is hooked up to a ventilator, you don’t want to be anywhere except by their bedside’
On Thursday, Chasten Buttigieg lashed out at former Vice President Mike Pence, recounting a “maternity leave” joke he made about Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg “goes against” the “family values” preached by Pence.
The transport secretary’s husband told The View that the couple had not received an apology from Pence.
Pence was the GOP speaker at Saturday night’s Gridiron Club dinner in Washington and mocked the Transportation Secretary for taking time off after the birth of his adoptive twins.
“When Pete’s two children were born, he took two months of maternity leave, where thousands of travelers were stranded in airports, the air traffic system shut down, planes nearly collided in full flight,” Pence said. “I mean, Pete Buttigieg is the only person in the history of mankind to have had a child and all of us, we all have postpartum depression.”
While appearing on The View – as well as in an Instagram post – Buttigieg chastised Pence, saying “when your child is hooked up to a ventilator, you don’t want to be anywhere but by their bedside.”
Chasten Buttigieg hit out at former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday, saying a ‘maternity leave’ joke he made about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ‘goes against the grain’. of the “family values” preached by Pence
Vice President Mike Pence was the Republican speaker at Saturday night’s Gridiron Club dinner in Washington. Pence joked that the country was suffering from ‘postpartum depression’ because of travel problems created while Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg was on ‘maternity leave’
He argued that Pence’s dig “goes against who he says he is.” “He says he’s a ‘family values’ Republican,” Buttigieg said. “I don’t think he practices what he preaches here.”
The Buttigiegs’ son Gus spent two months in the NICU as a newborn.
“I don’t take that when it’s directed at my family,” Buttigieg said, explaining why he decided to speak out.
“And I don’t think anyone else would, especially when you bring in a very small, medically fragile child,” Buttigieg explained.
The White House had called the joke “homophobic”, saying it was “offensive and inappropriate”.
But Buttigieg told The View co-hosts that Pence deliberately used “maternity” leave, as a way to feminize her husband, also calling the move “misogynistic.”
He argued that the first weeks spent with the twins, when he and Pete were on paternity leave, were not a “vacation”, but an incredibly trying time, as their daughter Penelope also needed 24-hour care. 24.
“And there’s nothing weak about that job,” Buttigieg said on The View.
The Gridiron Club is made up of journalists who perform skits and songs poking fun at both political parties – and themselves. Each year there is also a Democrat, a Republican, and a President representing the White House.
Dinner humor is meant to “scorch, not burn.”
On Saturday night, Pence’s comments about Pete Buttigieg were overshadowed by topical remarks he made about former President Donald Trump, as he recounted how he felt on Jan. 6 when the Capitol was attacked by a pro-Trump mob.
“I wasn’t scared, I was angry. President Trump was wrong,’ Pence said. “I had no right to void the election and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone on Capitol Hill that day.”
“And I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Pence said.
