Pete Buttigieg claps back at Marjorie Taylor Greene’s homophobic dog whistle
Pete Buttigieg says his “sense of manhood” isn’t connected to what fuels his vehicle in response to bizarre comments from anti-LGBTQ+ congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. (Getty)
Pete Buttigieg had the perfect comeback for Marjorie Taylor Greene after she accused him of trying to ‘emasculate the way people drive’.
The viciously anti-LGBTQ+ congresswoman made remark, filled with all its homophobic dog whistles, at a rally in Michigan for former president Donald Trump. Greene whined that Democrats like Buttigieg “want to emasculate the way” Americans drive by encouraging them to use electric cars.
The Georgia Republican claimed Buttigieg and other Democrats would “force” people to “rely on electric vehicles after they shut down” Michigan’s “great” auto industry. She also touted the “Americanness” of the “roar of a V8 engine under the hood of a Ford Mustang or Chevy Camaro”.
Buttigieg, who was the first openly gay Senate-confirmed cabinet member, shared what he thought of Greene’s bizarre comments during an appearance on Fox News.
“I literally don’t even understand what that means,” Pete Buttigieg said. “My sense of manhood is not connected to whether or not my vehicle is fuelled by gasoline or whether it’s fuelled by electricity.”
The transportation secretary continued: “It was a strange thing to say.
“You know, to be honest, there are other members of congress that I pay more attention to when I’m thinking about opinions that really matter or ideas that are going to be critical to engage with.”
Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg responds to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) saying he is trying to "emasculate the way we drive":
"I literally don't even understand what that means. My sense of manhood is not connected to whether my vehicle is fueled by … electricity." pic.twitter.com/rd8O0Hk6nF
— The Recount (@therecount) October 4, 2022
This isn’t the first time Greene used anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric to attack Buttigieg and his green transportation policies.
Greene suggested Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, wanted to use girls’ bathrooms in a bizarre rant at a Trump rally in March. The Republican said: “Pete Buttigieg can take his electric vehicles and his bicycles, and he and his husband can stay out of our girls’ bathrooms.”
Greene also made contemptuous remarks about Buttigieg’s growing family as they are the parents of two children in 2021 and have spoken openly about inclusive education.
She claimed during a speech in April that “mom and dad” had been “replaced by Chasten and Pete Buttigieg and their designer babies”.
Greene has a lengthy history of using anti-LGBTQ+ comments including saying that Pride Month “needs to end” and claimed that teaching about queer identities is “emotional child abuse”.
The far-right politician pushed false claims that trans men were responsible for a tampon shortage in the US; that Democrats were trying to “turn kids gay and transgender”; and that straight people will go extinct in a couple of generations.
