Keiko Hiromi/AFLO via ZUMA Press
Thursday night on his Fox News broadcast, Tucker Carlson attacked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for taking parental leave to care for his and his husband Chasten’s infant twins. “Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child,” Carlson ranted. “Paternity leave, they call it, trying to figure out how to breastfeed. No word on how that went.”
There are so many rancid homophobic messages in those three sentences that there is no need to unpack them here. Even conservative stalwart Bill Kristol tweeted, Buttigieg would be entitled to describe Carlson as a “repulsive bigot, and that his response to Carlson is, ‘F___ off.'”
But on Sunday morning on CNN’s State of the Union, Buttigieg chose another option when he was asked by host Jake Tapper if he would like to comment on Carlson’s remarks. “As you might imagine,” Buttigieg replied, “we are bottle feeding and doing it at all hours of the day and night. I’m not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson or anyone else for taking care of our premature newborn twins.”
Buttigieg on Tucker Carlson mocking him for taking paternity leave: “I’m not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson or anyone else for taking care of my premature newborn twins … it’s work that every American ought to be able to do when they welcome a new child into their family” pic.twitter.com/QXUxU1T0Me
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2021
Buttigieg’s parental leave is in line with President Joe Biden’s decision to make paid family and parental leave central to his domestic agenda. After Carlson’s remarks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, tweeted that she’s proud to be working with people like Buttigieg “who are role models on the importance of paid leave for new parents.” Buttigieg himself told Tapper, “The work that we are doing is joyful, fulfilling, wonderful work. It’s important work, and it’s work that every American ought to be able to do when they welcome a new child into their family. I campaigned on that.”
