Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg, has criticized a White House aide's position that Vice President Mike Pence could not be anti-gay because he was having lunch with Leo Varadkar, the openly gay prime minister of Ireland, and his partner, Dr. Matthew Barrett.

White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere tweeted that the luncheon proved Pence is not opposed to LGBT rights.

“For all of you who still think our @VP is anti-gay, I point you to his and the @SecondLady's schedule tomorrow where they will join Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar and his partner Dr. Matthew Barrett for lunch in Ireland,” Deere messaged.

Buttigieg, a teacher, responded on Twitter.

“I've sat at tables with people who would gladly deny me the right to marry, who openly support conversion therapy, and who adamantly believe being gay is a choice,” he tweeted. “Doesn't mean they're any less homophobic because we shared a meal.”

(Related: Pete Buttigieg: Mike Pence seems to be okay with discrimination against LGBT community.)

Bobby Berk, Queer Eye's design guy, also chimed in, asking Deere, “Are you for real?!”

Out Pennsylvania state Representative Brian Sims, a Democrat, called Deere “shameless.”

“Here for the ratio! And to make sure you're aware that this is a trash tweet defending a person responsible for gay men dying from AIDS [and] causing an HIV outbreak in Indiana because of his hate. Shame on you. And yeah, I know you're shameless,” he wrote.

As governor of Indiana, Pence signed a bill into law that critics said would give business owners the right to discriminate against the LGBT community. He's also supported therapies that attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, which suggests he believes being LGBT is a choice. Pence has repeatedly stated that he's opposed to same-sex marriage.

(Related: Mike Pence calls ban on rainbow flags at U.S. embassies “right decision.”)