White House says Pence should apologize for "homophobic joke" about Buttigieg

Washington — The White House called on former Vice President Mike Pence to apologize for what it called a "homophobic" joke he made over the weekend about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's decision to take paternity leave when his twins were born. 

During remarks at the annual Gridiron dinner in Washington on Saturday, Pence reportedly said Buttigieg, who is the first openly gay Cabinet secretary in U.S. history, took "maternity leave" while Americans faced airline problems in 2021. 

"Pete is the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets postpartum depression," Pence said, according to The Associated Press.