Outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg invited criticism from social media this week when he dismissed the state of New Jersey as the "point of entry" for an alien invasion.
Buttigieg made the comments in an interview on the set of "The Breakfast Club" on Monday while discussing the drone activity over New Jersey and other coastal states the past few weeks. When asked by co-host Charlamagne tha God if the drones were the beginning of an alien invasion, Buttigieg said it was "unlikely."
"I mean no disrespect to New Jersey when I say I think it's very unlikely that an alien invasion would begin in New Jersey," Buttigieg said to laughter from the three show hosts.
"Watch your mouth, we live there," co-host D.J. Envy told Buttigieg to more laughter.
"I love New Jersey. I'm just saying I don't think that's the main point of entry that an extraterrestrial would ... unless there's something we don't know about," Buttigieg said.
"I would go for someplace in the Pacific where there's no inhabited space for a couple of hundred miles so that I could get kind of my bearings before I go anywhere anyone is going to see me, right?" he added.
Joking or not, the comments rolled in on social media, according to The Daily Mail.
"With all disrespect to Pete Buttigieg, it is very likely an alien invasion would absolutely begin in New Jersey," a user on X commented.
"So basically Jersey isn't on the radar for intelligent life," one follower posted.
"Sec of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is responsible for the safety of American skies. Yet, we've got unidentified drones buzzing over New Jersey, and Pothole Pete is nowhere to be found ..." a user on X chimed in.
Regarding the ongoing saga of the drones and their origins, Buttigieg said his agency is assisting law enforcement, especially on restricted airspace issues.
"Bigger picture is we're gonna have more and more drones — obviously, if it's manned, that's different — but we're gonna have more and more things entering the airspace. We gotta work to make sure that's safe. ... The drones are getting bigger," he said.
Buttigieg will be out of his role in a little more than a month. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., to be his transportation secretary.