Pence faces flak for mocking Buttigieg, maternity leave and postpartum depression

Former US vice president Mike Pence is under fire for mocking US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg at the Gridiron dinner, a bipartisan Washington event where light-hearted speeches were made. The event also featured Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey, and the secretary of state, Antony Blinken. White House slammed Pence for making fun of Buttigieg, maternity leave and postpartum depression, saying that his comments were homophobic and offensive to women.

During his speech at the event, Pence talked about how Donald Trump “endangered" his family on January 6, 2021. However, while making a joke, Pence decided to take a shot not only at Buttigieg, but also in the same vein mocked maternity leave and post-partum depression.

Buttigieg is the first openly gay cabinet secretary confirmed by the US Senate. He also ran for the Democratic presidential nominee race in 2020. He is married and has twins with his partner Chasten Buttigieg. The babies were hospitalised in October 2021 during the same time when the US faced issues with rail and air delays and safety.

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Referring to that, Pence at the dinner said that Buttigieg had taken “maternity leave” from his job, while “thousands of travellers were stranded in airports, the air traffic system shut down and airplanes nearly collided on our runways."

Also Read |Mike Pence criticises former President for ‘endangering’ his family

“Pete is the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets postpartum depression," he added.

His remarks invited criticism “even before the dinner was over”, Associated Press reported.

“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," Joe Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said.

“He should apologise to women and LGBTQ+ people, who are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Chasten Buttigieg also hit back at Pence. He posted a picture of Pete in the hospital, holding one of the twins, and wrote he had “an honest question” for Pence.

“If your grandchild was born prematurely and placed on a ventilator at two months old – their tiny fingers wrapped around yours as the monitors beep in the background – where would you be?”

Pence is expected to launch a presidential bid soon.

(With inputs from agencies)

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