The brother of Chasten Buttigieg said he and Pete Buttigieg had 'lost touch with reality' after complaining they could barely afford to live in Washington, D.C., despite earning hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The transportion secretary's income has come under intense scrutiny after his husband told the Washington Post the couple could afford only an 800ft, one-bedroom apartment - which the paper said was advertised for about $4500.
Ryhan Glezman, a pastor in Michigan, said his brother Chasten Buttigieg's comments would upset Americans surviving on much less money.
'It saddens me to see my brother submitting to the victim mentality that distorts your view of reality,' he said.
'Living a victim mentality will suck the joy out of life and that is what I see happening with these comments.
'When you’re making over 200k a year along with book sales and feel like you cannot afford to live then you have lost touch with reality.'
Rhyan Glezman, a pastor in Michigan, said he was saddened by comments his brother Chasten Buttigieg made claiming that he and his husband could barely afford to live in Washington, D.C., despite earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. 'When you’re making over 200k a year along with book sales and feel like you cannot afford to live then you have lost touch with reality,' he said.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's husband Chasten claims the couple can't afford a one-bedroom apartment in Washington D.C and say the city is 'almost unaffordable'.
Buttigieg's salary is $221,400 a year and Chasten, a former middle school and drama teacher, is unemployed
Federal filings show the Buttigieg earned between $100,000 and $1 million from his memoir 'Shortest Way Home'
Hundreds of people on Twitter agreed, pointing out that $4500 would go a long way for a monthly rental.
Buttigieg made much of his modest means during the Democratic presidential primaries. In December 2019, during a primary debate, he said: 'You know, according to Forbes magazine, I am literally the only person on this stage who is not a millionaire or a billionaire.'
His most recent financial filings suggest he has profited handsomely since then.
They show how the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, earned between $800,000 and $1.8 million in the two years before he joined the Biden administration.
Trust was published in October. Buttigieg was paid a $311,500 advance last year and reported that he expected two further payments this year
Like other high-profile politicians, book royalties and advances provided the bulk of his income.
His memoir, 'Shortest Way Home' published in 2019, brought in between $100,000 and $1 million in royalties.
In October he published 'Trust,' which came with a $311,500 advance.
In a separate ethics filings, he reports that he expects further advance payments in April and October this year, followed by more royalties if it sells well.
For hosting a podcast series on iHeart Radio entitled 'The Deciding Decade' he reported a 'minimum guarantee payment' of $150,000.
The filings also show a $36,667 salary for a post at Notre Dame University that ran from June last year until he stepped down to become transportation secretary, and his $111,607 mayor's salary that he was paid up to January of 2020.
All told, with TV appearances, other book licensing deals and income from investments, it makes for a tidy living.
Last month, Forbes estimated Buttigieg's net worth to be $750,000 - modest for many administration officials, and tempered by his student debts - but a big increase on his wealth of $100,000 at the start of the campaign.
Chasten added he was still adjusting to Washington and sometimes struggled with the D.C. insider life of being invited to dinners and parties with lobbyists and lawmakers
The filing also offers a hint at what his husband was paid for his 2020 memoir, 'I Have Something to Tell You.' The document suggests it could earn the couple $50-100,000.
Yet in the recent interview about his life in Washington, D.C., Chasten Buttigieg said the couple found their finances stretched.
'We couldn’t afford the one-bedroom-plus-den,' he said of their choice of one-bedroom apartment near Eastern Market.
Threats and a break-in at their South Bend home meant they picked a residence for location and security.
But that came at a cost in a building where two-bedroom apartments start at $5650, although Chasten said they had negotiated a deal for one bedroom at $3000.
'We’re doing fine for ourselves, and [yet] the city is almost unaffordable,' he said. 'Which tells you how extremely unaffordable it is for many people.'
The comments provoked an immediate backlash.
Conservatives and liberals mocked the idea that living in Washington required such a high price tag.
'Imagine being so far removed from the real world that you complain about your $4,500/mo apartment not having a den,' tweeted Abigail Marone, press secretary for firebrand Republican Sen. Josh Hawley.
'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.'
Chasten's brother said the couple were mismanaging their money and that he was saddened by their outlook when he and his wife were happy with their modest lives on less than $100,000 a year.
'I think they are doing just fine buying a house on Lake Michigan and remodeling their Lake home with such inflated material cost at this time,' he said.
How would the complaints look as they get by on much less money?
'This is a victim mentality,' added Glezman, senior pastor at the Community Church of God in Clio, 'drawing the wrong attention ... especially when they are supposed to be working for the American people, who work so hard for much less money.
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in D.C. is $2,090 a month and $2,936 for a two-bedroom, according to rental site Zumper.
The average salary of a capital resident is $77,000 a year, according to Payscale.
Buttigieg's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Chasten, a former middle school and drama teacher, is unemployed.
Chasten told the Post that the couple sold their house in South Bend, Indiana, where Pete was mayor from 2012 to 2020, earlier this year.
Chasten also said that the rent was less than $4,500 a month when they signed the lease at the beginning of the year.
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Share 178 sharesThey secured a lease for the 800-square foot pad for $3,000 with two months of free rent, the Post reported.
They still own a home on Lake Michigan in Traverse City where Chasten grew up and his parents live.
Chasten now says they play 'Zillow Price Is Right', and 'try to guess the out-of-reach appraisal values of homes they admire and then look up the actual estimate online.'
He did admit that he sees the 'charm' in D.C. and understands the 'people who are very in love with this city'.
He added that that he sometimes struggled with the D.C. insider life of being invited to dinners and parties with lobbyists and lawmakers.
'It’s very hard to make a friend when everybody wants something from your husband, he said. 'Or they’re expecting him to do something. It makes interactions feel inauthentic a lot. You just kind of have to always have your guard up.'
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