Pete Buttigieg speaks out after far-right Tucker Carlson claims he ‘isn’t gay’ and wanting to quiz him on sexuality
"I cannot think of a topic I would like to discuss less with Tucker Carlson," Buttigieg has said about Carlson's conspiracy that he is lying about being gay
By Aaron Sugg
US politician Pete Buttigieg has responded after conservative former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson claimed he was a “fake gay guy” earlier this month.
Carlson made the remarks during a conversation with fellow conservative commentator Michael Knowles on his podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show.
Speaking about Buttigieg’s past bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Carlson alleged that the secretary’s sexuality is performative and suggested he should be quizzed on “very specific questions about gay sex.”
He also claimed that a producer once told him the former presidential candidate “isn’t gay.”
“I cannot think of a topic I would like to discuss less” – Pete Buttigieg on Tucker Carlson’s request to quiz him on his sexuality
Buttigieg, who came out publicly in 2015, married his husband Chasten in 2018 and is raising two children with him. He has dismissed the accusations.
Speaking this week to Kara Swisher on her podcast On With Kara Swisher, he quipped: “I cannot think of a topic I would like to discuss less with Tucker Carlson than that.”
The politician added: “Chasten, my husband, has threatened to have my gay card revoked so many times. This is just going to be the latest.”
“Their idea of a conspiracy” – Buttigieg on Carlson’s claims he is “secretly” straight
He noted: “I suppose it’s a sign of progress that their idea of a conspiracy is that I’m actually secretly straight,” Buttigieg continued. “We are through the looking glass now.”
Though he quickly emphasised he had no real interest in Carlson’s views on his private life.
Buttigieg has recently been back in the media spotlight after Kamala Harris wrote in her memoir that he would have been her top contender to run alongside her, if he was not gay.
She argued that a presidential bid featuring both a Black woman and a gay man was considered too big a risk.
When asked on the podcast whether he is considering a run for president in 2028, the former transportation secretary replied, “I don’t know.”
This is not the first time the far-right presenter Carlson has received backlash over his comments on the LGBTQ+ community. Carlson’s remarks fit a broader pattern of anti-LGBTQ+ commentary.
As reported by Them, in a 2022 episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, he targeted drag performer and activist Marti Gould Cummings after they were invited to the White House.
He referred to them as “an Antifa-friendly drag queen dressing up like a woman and promoting violence.” He went further, insinuating that Cummings was “interested in children in all the wrong ways.”