Chasten Buttigieg, wife of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, responded after former Vice President Mike Pence mocked her husband’s paternity leave.
“An honest question for you,” tweeted Chasten Buttigieg, tagging Pence, “after trying to make a joke this weekend. If your grandson was born prematurely and put on a ventilator at two months old – those little fingers are wrapped around his hand you when the monitor is ringing in the background – where will you be?
Pence drew backlash after he joked Saturday night at a Gridiron dinner for reporters in Washington, DC, that Pete Buttigieg had taken “maternity leave” early in the Biden administration. Referring to the disruption of flights and travel in recent months, he added that Buttigieg is “the only person in human history who has children and everyone has postpartum depression.”
Buttigieg and his wife welcomed twins Gus and Penelope in September 2021. Cabinet officials took parental leave at that time to be with the baby. The couple later revealed that their babies had been dealing with serious health problems after contracting a respiratory virus. Gus was placed on a ventilator in the pediatric intensive care unit.
“I’ll leave it up to you if you want to know more about the kids you want to use as a punchline,” Chasten Buttigieg added in his first tweet, sharing a link to his wife’s Medium article about Penelope and Gus’ medical. struggle
Pete Buttigieg has been heavily criticized by some Republicans and right-wing figures like Tucker Carlson for taking time away from his babies while the national supply chain crisis continues. Buttigieg defended his choice and said he was available remotely 24/7 for major decisions during that time.
The White House press secretary slammed Pence on Monday for making the comments.
“He should apologize to women and LGBTQ+ people,” said Karine Jean-Pierre.
Marc Short, Pence’s aide and former chief of staff, responded to the criticism on Twitteraccused the Biden administration of “faking outrage” and “pleasing the woke police.”
Pence, an evangelical Christian, served as governor of Indiana for four years while Buttigieg was mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Pence is reportedly considering a run for president in 2024.