Mike Pence defends ‘homophobic’ remarks about Buttigieg’s parental leave: ‘He can’t take a joke’

Mike Pence is doubling down on remarks he made about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last week that were criticized as “homophobic,” “misogynistic” and “offensive.”

Pence came under fire last weekend after he mocked Buttigieg for taking “maternal leave” in 2021. The former vice president told reporters at a Thursday night event in New Hampshire that Buttigieg couldn’t “take a joke.”

Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, were “overjoyed” to announce the birth of their twins in August 2021. But two months later, they shared the kids had to be rushed to the hospital after a health scare.

“Pete is the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets postpartum depression,” Pence said at the annual Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.

The comments sparked a strong rebuke from the White House.

On Monday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Pence should apologize “to women and LGBTQ people, who are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Chasten Buttigieg also criticized Pence’s “attempted joke,” sharing a photo of one of the twins in a hospital room.

“If your grandchild was born prematurely and placed on a ventilator at 2 months old — their tiny fingers wrapped around yours as the monitors beep in the background — where would you be?” he wrote in a tweet directed at Pence, who announced the birth of his first granddaughter in March 2021.

But speaking at the Republican event Thursday night, Pence pushed back at the criticism.

“The Gridiron Dinner is a roast. I had a lot of jokes directed to me, and I directed a lot of jokes to Republicans and Democrats,” he told reporters.

“The only thing I can figure is Pete Buttigieg not only can’t do his job, but he can’t take a joke,” he added.

With News Wire Services