Mike Pence doubles down on homophobic joke about Pete Buttigieg

Former Vice President Mike Pence doubled down Thursday night on a much-criticized joke he told about Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at the weekend’s White-Tie Gridiron dinner.

“The Gridiron Dinner is a roast. I had a lot of jokes thrown at me, and I’ve thrown a lot of jokes at Republicans and Democrats,” Pence told reporters at a GOP event in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, according to the Associated Press.

“All I can think of is that Pete Buttigieg not only can’t do his job, he can’t take a joke,” Pence added.

Former Vice President Mike Pence.

Dia Dipasupil via Getty Images

Pence’s original comment mocked Buttigieg for taking parental leave in 2021 amid flight, travel and supply chain disruptions shortly after secretary and husband Chasten adopted newborn twins.

“Pete is the only person in the history of mankind who has had a child, and everyone else gets postpartum depression,” Pence said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Pence’s comments “offensive and inappropriate” and said he “should apologize to women and LGBTQ people who are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Chasten Buttigieg, meanwhile, fired back with a photo of his husband in hospital as their children were being treated for the respiratory virus.

“If your grandchild was born prematurely and was on a ventilator at two months old – his tiny fingers wrapped around yours while the monitors beeped in the background – where would you be?” he asked the former Veep.

an honest question for you @Mike_Pence, after your attempted joke this weekend. If your grandchild were born prematurely and put on a ventilator at two months old – his tiny fingers wrapped around yours while the monitors beeped in the background – where would you be? pic.twitter.com/pCWvl8pb5N

— Chasten Buttigieg (@Chasten) March 13, 2023

Speaking on The View Tuesday, Chasten went on to say, “I spoke up because we all have a duty to hold people accountable when they say something wrong, especially when it’s misogynistic, especially when it’s homophobic, and I just don’t accept that when it comes to my family, and I don’t think anyone else would, especially when you bring a very small, medically vulnerable child.”

“He says he’s a family-friendly Republican. So I don’t think he’s practicing what he’s preaching here,” Chasten Buttigieg added of Pence.

.@Chasten Buttigieg is responding to what the White House made a ‘homophobic joke’ of the former vice president. Pence took aim at his husband @SecretaryPete for paternity leave: “It goes against what he says he is — he says he’s a Republican with ‘family values’.” pic.twitter.com/SDYTPen905

— The View (@TheView) March 16, 2023