Jean-Pierre calls for Pence to apologize for joke about Buttigieg

OAN Deven Berryhill
UPDATED 4:30 PM PT – Monday, March 13, 2023

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has asked former Vice President Mike Pence to apologize for telling a “homophobic joke” regarding Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s paternity leave.

Mike Pence spoke to journalists and politicians in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. He poked fun at Buttigieg, who took paternity leaves while Americans were experiencing unprecedented air travel problems.

“He took two months ‘maternity’ leave whereupon thousands of travelers were stranded in airports, the air traffic system shut down, and airplanes nearly collided on our runways. Pete is the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets postpartum depression,” Pence said.

Jean-Pierre told The Washington Blade, a liberal LGBTQ outlet, that the former vice president should apologize “to women and LGBTQ people.”

“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 punchline,” said Jean-Pierre. “He should apologize to women and LGBTQ people, who are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Sources claim that the Transportation Secretary is gay. “took maternity leave” After he and his wife adopted twins in 2021. 

Pence’s former Chief of Staff Marc Short tweeted Monday that he called the White House response a “failure to respond.” “faux outrage.”

“The White House would be wise to focus less on placating the woke police and focus more on bank failures, planes nearly colliding in mid-air, train derailments, and the continued supply chain crisis,” Short but powerful.

Pence was joined by Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State and Phil Murphy (D.N.J.) at Gridiron’s event. The event featured a variety of jokes meant to be funny.  The former vice president did take the opportunity call out former President Donald Trump over his handling of the January 6 protest at the Capitol in 2021. 

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