National Review attacks Chasten and Pete Buttigieg with homophobic ‘poem’
Rob Long's column suggested the Buttigiegs would harm their children and missed having money to spend on "artisanal honey"
A conservative columnist at right-wing magazine The National Review has penned a homophobic poem attacking Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten.
Rob Long’s “Happy Seasons” article, published last week, took aim at the Buttigiegs’ parenting abilities, after the couple became fathers to twins earlier this year.
Long referred to Chasten as “Mister Mom” and adopted the oft-used homophobic trope that men are bad parents and children need a mother.
“But that’s the thing to remember, even when the two dads are gay, they’re still dudes, and most men are just born that way,” Long wrote.
“Not trying to sound retro or even a bit anti-trans, but with a diaper to change, your average mans, will put it on backwards or some baffling way, whether he likes Broadway musicals or prefers MMA.”
Related: Newsmax host slammed for claiming being gay is Pete Buttigieg’s ‘full-time job’
He also implied that the Buttigiegs would cause harm to their children by using “fancy soaps” and made fun of the potential impermanency of their marriage, given the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.
Long suggested that Pete is “bored” being a father while Chasten is busy removing “spit-up from his shirt by Tom Ford.”
He said the couple are “trying really hard to remain grateful” that they are married and have children, when a few years ago they had money to spend “on French wines and artisanal honey.”
Long then seemed to suggest that the Buttigiegs want the Supreme Court to overturn their marriage, writing, “We’re thrilled to be dads, gay parenthood is not just one of those fads, but if SCOTUS is looking to overturn Roe, truth to tell, maybe pause that and look at Obergefell?”
Taking a moment to attack attempts to confront systemic racism, Long also suggested that Buttigieg is readying himself for a “Gay Presidential Campaign” in 2024.
Not the first time Buttigieg has endured attacks for being a parent
Conservatives have repeatedly attacked Buttigieg since his historic confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Transportation, making him the first Senate-confirmed member of a presidential cabinet.
After announcing in September that he and Chasten had become fathers, Buttigieg has faced criticism from conservatives who balked at him taking four weeks parental leave to help care for their newborn twins, Joseph and Penelope.
Related: Pete Buttigieg calls fatherhood “the most demanding thing I’ve ever done”
Fox News host Tucker Carlson was criticized for saying Buttigieg was taking paternity leave to “figure out how to breastfeed.”
MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace slammed Carlson’s comments, calling them “misogynistic” and “homophobic.”
Buttigieg responded to the criticism, telling MSNBC, “I guess he just doesn’t understand the concept of bottle feeding, let alone the concept of paternity leave. But what’s really strange is that, you know, this is from a side of the aisle that used to claim the mantle of being pro-family.”
Buttigieg also noted that Carlson “has yet to explain his apparent approval for the assassination of (history-making gay politician) Harvey Milk, so obviously we know that there’s some dark places where some of these attitudes come from.”
Last month, Newsmax host Greg Kelly was slammed on social media after claiming that being gay is a “full-time job” for Buttigieg.
Kelly also suggested that Buttigieg, a former presidential candidate and mayor of South Bend, Ind., only gained his cabinet post because of his sexual orientation.
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