Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke out after Martha-Ann Alito—the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito—was caught in a recent recording explaining how she wanted to fly a "Sacred Heart of Jesus" flag in response to nearby Pride flags.
The recording, made by "advocacy journalist" and documentary filmmaker Lauren Windsor, who posed as a conservative supporter, captured Mrs. Alito's comments during a black-tie event at the Supreme Court.
Mrs. Alito said:
"You know what I want? I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month.”
Mrs. Alito then described her husband’s reaction:
"He’s like, ‘Oh please don’t put up a flag.’ I said, ‘I won’t do it because I’m deferring to you. But when you are free of this nonsense, I’m putting it up and I’m going to send them a message every day. Maybe every week, I’ll be changing the flags.”
She also told Windsor that she's been contemplating a different flag of her own design to fly as well:
“They’ll be all kinds. I made a flag in my head. This is how I satisfy myself,” she continued. “It’s white and it has yellow and orange flames around it, and in the middle in the word ‘Vergogna.’” [the Italian word for "shame"]
Buttigieg—an out gay man—addressed Mrs. Alito's remarks shortly afterward during a CNN appearance during which he was asked the following question:
“How does that make you feel knowing that the wife of a Supreme Court justice wants to send a message to people with a Pride flag?”
You can hear what Buttigieg said in the video below.
Pete Buttigieg reacts to Martha Alito's Pride flag commentwww.youtube.com
Buttigieg said:
"I’m often reminded that the most important thing in my life, which is my marriage, and my family and the two beautiful children that my husband Chasten and I are raising, that that marriage only exists by the grace of the single vote on the United States Supreme Court that expanded our rights and freedoms back in 2015 and made it possible for somebody like me to get married."
“And, you know, Supreme Court justices have an unbelievable amount of power and, by the nature and the structure of the Supreme Court, there’s no supervision over that power. They are entrusted with it literally for as long as they live."
"And part of that trust is we expect them to enter into those enormously consequential decisions that shape our everyday lives with a sense of fairness.”
He added:
“I also hope that most Americans can understand the difference between a flag that symbolizes, you know, love and acceptance and signals to people who have sometimes feared for their safety that they’re going to be okay and insurrectionist symbology, I’ll just leave it at that.”
Buttigieg was praised for his remarks while the Alitos faced further criticism.
Windsor, who secretly recorded Mrs. Alito, has spoken out about why she recorded her in the first place.
In remarks to Rolling Stone, Windsor defended the recording, saying she doesn't "consider Martha-Ann a private figure, given that she’s married to a Supreme Court justice, and she’s a window into his thinking." Windsor described Mrs. Alito as "very, very enthusiastic about her flag waving."
The publication reported that for years, Mrs. Alito has expressed resentment towards the D.C. elite, accusing them of excluding her and her husband because of their strong conservative views. Sources note that she is known in influential GOP circles for her political tirades, remarks on cultural issues, and longstanding grudges against liberals, which date back to the George W. Bush era.
Justice Alito did not respond to a request for comment. He recently came under fire after news outlets reported that an upside-down flag flew at the home shortly after the Capitol riot.
