Pete Buttigieg Claps Back at GOP Chair's Glaring Homophobia

Michigan GOP Chairwoman and Pete Buttigieg

The transportation secretary put the Michigan Republican on blast for a homophobic comment she made about him recently.

Christopher Wiggins

Christopher Wiggins is The Advocate’s senior national reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the intersection of public policy and politics with LGBTQ+ lives, including The White House, U.S. Congress, Supreme Court, and federal agencies. He has written multiple cover story profiles for The Advocate’s print magazine, profiling figures like Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, longtime LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Good Morning America Weekend anchor Gio Benitez. Wiggins is committed to amplifying untold stories, especially as the second Trump administration’s policies impact LGBTQ+ (and particularly transgender) rights, and can be reached at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social; whistleblowers can securely contact him on Signal at cwdc.98.

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Christopher Wiggins

September 15 2022 7:51 AM EST

October 31 2024 5:27 AM EST

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The co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party thought she had made a brilliant comment on Twitter on Sunday, but it was actually just some blatant homophobia aimed at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who reacted to her words yesterday.

Buttigieg said that his children will have better values than Meshawn Maddock, the Michigan Republican Party co-chair who called him a "weak little girl" earlier this week on Twitter.

"If she wants to talk about little girls, Chasten, and I are raising a little girl and a little boy. And we are raising them to have better values than the chairwoman," Buttigieg told local station WXYZ in an interview during the Detroit auto show, which reporter Ross Jones tweeted out.

\u201cIn response to a homophobic tweet by @MIGOP @CoChairMeshawn calling Pete Buttigieg a \u201cweak little girl,\u201d the Transportation Secretary responds:\n\n\u201cI\u2019m raising a little girl and little boy, and I\u2019m going to raise them with better values than the chairwoman.\u201d\u201d
— Ross Jones (@Ross Jones) 1663199923

Buttigieg is the first out cabinet secretary, former mayor of South Bend, Ind., and a former officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Last August, the Buttigieges announced they had adopted twins, and their children celebrated their first birthday recently.

In a tweet on Sunday afternoon, Maddock shared a video of Buttigieg discussing California's plan to ban gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035 and advocating for a transition to electric vehicles. However, she couldn't resist sprinkling in a little bit of homophobia.

"We're so blessed this weak little girl moved to Michigan," Maddock wrote in her tweet about the video. "Looks like he's bringing all his California Dreaming here with him."