Surprising absolutely no one, Tucker Carlson took U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s paternity leave as an opportunity to sling homophobic comments about Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten. Buttigieg began his paternity leave in August in order to spend time with the couple’s twins, Joseph August and Penelope Rose. Buttigieg, mind you, has already started making some work appearances at the time of writing, though a number of outlets—including Politico and local CBS outlets—are covering his leave as his being missing in action amid supply chain issues. I wouldn’t describe someone who has made appearances on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, NPR, and others within the past week alone as MIA, but okay.
“Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child,” Carlson ranted during a Thursday night segment of his show. “Paternity leave, they call it. Trying to figure out how to breastfeed. No word on how that went.” Ah, precisely the snide, homophobic, misogynist, and dismissive verbiage we’ve come to expect from Fox News.
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to discuss what Carlson says or thinks, but given that he has an enormous platform thanks to Fox News, what he spews is important—at least, to some people. Carlson has spouted off conspiracy theories about COVID-19, invoked white nationalist conspiracy rhetoric while talking about immigration, and argued that progressives talking about race have hurt the nation. He’s a big fan of giving sexist smears air time, has no issue stomping on vulnerable trans youth, and, at this point unsurprisingly, loves to rant about Black Lives Matter and bolster hysteria about antifa.
Thankfully, many folks on Twitter—where the clip of Carlson’s homophobia has gotten a lot of attention—are speaking up both in support of Buttigieg and paid paternity leave in general.
The kicker? As pointed out by LGBTQ Nation, Fox News actually offers six weeks of paternity leave—and some from the network have openly praised the policy.
Sign the petition to Fox News: It is time to fire Tucker Carlson.
You can watch Carlson’s rant below if you’re able to stomach it. You can also relive the delight of Buttigieg hitting it out of the park while being interviewed by Chris Wallace not once, but twice on Fox News.
YouTube Video
“Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child,” Carlson ranted during a Thursday night segment of his show. “Paternity leave, they call it. Trying to figure out how to breastfeed. No word on how that went.” Ah, precisely the snide, homophobic, misogynist, and dismissive verbiage we’ve come to expect from Fox News.
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to discuss what Carlson says or thinks, but given that he has an enormous platform thanks to Fox News, what he spews is important—at least, to some people. Carlson has spouted off conspiracy theories about COVID-19, invoked white nationalist conspiracy rhetoric while talking about immigration, and argued that progressives talking about race have hurt the nation. He’s a big fan of giving sexist smears air time, has no issue stomping on vulnerable trans youth, and, at this point unsurprisingly, loves to rant about Black Lives Matter and bolster hysteria about antifa.
Thankfully, many folks on Twitter—where the clip of Carlson’s homophobia has gotten a lot of attention—are speaking up both in support of Buttigieg and paid paternity leave in general.
I'm glad @SecretaryPete is taking time to care for his new children. All parents deserve paid family leave. In Sweden dads get 11 weeks. 12 in Spain. 35 in Japan. Willful ignorance and bigotry like Tucker's holds us back. #ncpolhttps://t.co/hVkiCAdN0b
— Scott Huffman for NC ?(@HuffmanForNC) October 15, 2021
The kicker? As pointed out by LGBTQ Nation, Fox News actually offers six weeks of paternity leave—and some from the network have openly praised the policy.
Sign the petition to Fox News: It is time to fire Tucker Carlson.
You can watch Carlson’s rant below if you’re able to stomach it. You can also relive the delight of Buttigieg hitting it out of the park while being interviewed by Chris Wallace not once, but twice on Fox News.
YouTube Video