Former Vice President Mike Pence’s spokesman has criticized following White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s recent “faux” outrage over a joke Pence made during the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.
During the white-tie event, Pence joked that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, “took maternity leave” after he and his husband adopted twins in 2021. On Monday, Jean-Pierre blasted this comment telling The Washington Blade that his joke had been “homophobic,” “offensive” and “inappropriate.” She proceeded to say that Pence should apologize to both “women and LGBTQ people.”
Marc Short, Pence’s adviser and former chief of staff called Jean-Pierre out stating that she should “spare America the faux outrage” and added that the “hypocrisy is especially rich” as previously Anthony Blinken, the Secretary of State had jokingly called for “‘the old days when ‘Jews did all the work.’”
He added that the White House needed to be less focused on appeasing the “woke police” and should instead focus on key issues such as the bank’s collapse, the train derailment, and the supply chain crisis.
Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates following Short’s response criticized the Trump-Pence administration for the anti-abortion stance and accused them of having played a role in the bankruptcy of the Silicon Valley Bank.
He added that “Attacking a parent for taking leave when their infants were in the hospital is a poor definition of ‘family values.’” He continued by stating that blocking child care and a woman’s right to their health decisions also went against “family values.” He proceeded to say that the deregulation of banks like SVB also took place under the Trump-Pence administration.
