Buttigieg, Husband Say They Can Barely Afford 1-Bedroom DC Apartment Despite $221,000 Salary
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was lampooned after his house husband, Chasten, whined about being forced to live in a one-bedroom apartment without a den (the horror!) because the rent is so high in Washington.
The Buttigiegs moved from a 2,500-square-foot, three-bedroom house in South Bend, Indiana, into an 800-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment in D.C.
The couple pay roughly $3,000 a month in rent, Chasten told The Washington Post for an article published Monday.
The unemployed teacher groused in the fluff interview that “we couldn’t afford the one-bedroom-plus-den” even though Pete’s taxpayer-funded salary is a comfortable $221,400. For reference, that’s $18,450 a month in pretax income.
Chasten said the couple chose to live in a smaller apartment in a fancy building in a nice part of town (instead of a bigger unit in a cheaper building in a less-exclusive part of the city) because it has around-the-clock security.
Good security is necessary in Democrat-run Washington, where crime has skyrocketed following the left’s “defund the police” frenzy.
Chasten expressed shock that rents are high in big cities and wondered how middle-class Americans manage their finances, which are under siege by soaring inflation.
“We’re doing fine for ourselves, and [yet] the city is almost unaffordable,” he told the Post. “Which tells you how extremely unaffordable it is for many people.”
Chasten’s tone-deaf complaints illustrate how out-of-touch with reality today’s Democrats are.
Wow, rents are higher in big cities than in small towns like South Bend (population: 102,136) where Buttigieg was mayor? Stop the presses for this breaking news!
Chasten’s griping earned scorn from Twitter commenters, who were disgusted by his bellyaching.
Abigail Marone, the press secretary for Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, tweeted: “Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities thanks to #Bidenflation but poor Pete & Chasten don’t get a den in their high-end building. Boo hoo.”
Imagine being so far removed from the real world that you complain about your $4,500/mo apartment not having a den.
Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities thanks to #bidenflation but poor Pete & Chasten don’t get a den in their high-end building. Boo hoo. https://t.co/id4F7RztKB
— Abigail Marone (@abigailmarone) July 26, 2021
The Twitter account for the House Republicans said, “Americans are struggling to afford groceries because of President Biden’s reckless spending. How out of touch are the Buttigieges?”
Americans are struggling to afford groceries because of President Biden’s reckless spending.
How out of touch are the Buttigieges? https://t.co/2JOKi4nhFs
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) July 26, 2021
“The buried lede here is that the Transportation Secretary does not want to commute,” one Twitter user joked.
The buried lede here is that the Transportation Secretary does not want to commute. https://t.co/ZxosfOlSt6
— Wilson Dizard (@willdizard) July 26, 2021
Another commenter said Buttigieg’s whining was an unintentional self-own.
“TFW [that feeling when] you try to identify with the struggles of working Americans but then WaPo reports you alone make a quarter million dollars annually.”
TFW you try to identify with the struggles of working Americans but then WaPo reports you alone make a quarter million dollars annually: https://t.co/UfXbLsmgwe
— John Cooper (@thejcoop) July 26, 2021
Club for Growth senior analyst Andrew Follett remarked that if Buttigieg can’t find a decent apartment on a $221,400 salary, it’s because he doesn’t know how to manage his money.
“Hilarious how Mr. Wine Cave Buttigieg is whining that he ONLY makes $221,400 a year,” Follett tweeted.
“The problem isn’t DC’s real estate market (which I’ve personally lived with and in for years)…it’s that Dems elites are incredibly fiscally irresponsible…even in their personal lives.”
Hilarious how Mr. Wine Cave Buttigieg is whining that he ONLY makes $221,400 a year.
The problem isn’t DC’s real estate market (which I’ve personally lived with and in for years)…it’s that Dems elites are incredibly fiscally irresponsible…even in their personal lives. https://t.co/okoo2pwlf9
— Andrew Follett (@AndrewCFollett) July 26, 2021
If Chasten Buttigieg is complaining now about the high rents in Washington, he’s in for a rude awakening over the next few months.
By now, everyone sees that inflation has soared and prices for gas, groceries and other goods have skyrocketed under the disastrous stewardship of President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, Biden continues to downplay or ignore the mounting economic crisis while promoting reckless policies that enable mass illegal immigration, rampant lawlessness and alarming race wars.
Few people are surprised that Biden has caused so much mayhem during his brief tenure. But most of us did not expect him to cram four years of destruction into just six months.
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