Tucker Carlson Rants And Accuses Pete Buttigieg Of Lying About Being Gay

Right-wing Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson has accused out US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg of lying about being gay.

Carlson’s rant, in Wednesday’s episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, was brought on by Buttigieg’s interview with CBS News. During the interview, the transportation secretary pointed to the political rhetoric directed at the LGBTQI community for the recent shooting at Club Q in Colorado, which took the lives of five people and injured over a dozen. 

Buttigieg said that “If anybody claims to be surprised that political attacks on a community that doesn’t hurt anybody are sometimes followed by violent physical attacks on that same community, I just don’t think they’re being honest.”

Carlson took issue with Buttigieg’s statement, saying, “It’s not like Pete Buttigieg wants to talk about how things are going over at the Transportation Department, which he supposedly runs. No, Pete Buttigieg wants to talk about identity. He always wants to talk about identity. 

“And the funny, ironic thing is, until just a few years ago, Buttigieg wouldn’t even admit that he was gay. He hid that and then lied about it for reasons he has never been asked to explain. Why not?

“Now he’s happy to use his sexual orientation as a cudgel to bash you repeatedly in the face into submission.”

Tucker Carlson's newest homophobic conspiracy theory:

"Until just a few years ago, Pete Buttigieg wouldn't even admit he was gay. He hid that and then lied about it for reasons he has never been asked to explain. Why not?" pic.twitter.com/c2Wfh9h867

— Kat Abu (@abughazalehkat) November 24, 2022

Rather Than Focusing On Real Issues They’ve Decided To Focus On Hate

In an interview with CNN, Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten Buttigieg responded to this, saying, “This kind of rhetoric is easy. It’s so easy to attack people and to go on your talk show and fire people up about something that’s not actually happening.” 

He continued, “I love my husband. I know he’s a committed public servant and he has everyone’s best interests at heart. I just think these people, again with these megaphones — they have to have a big platform and rather than focusing on real issues, people’s lives, making them better, they’ve decided to focus on hate.”

On multiple occasions, Buttigieg has mentioned that one of the reasons he did not come out during his military service was because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which banned openly gay people from serving in the military.

Buttigieg: Part Of Who I Am

In 2015, in an article he wrote for the South Bend Tribune while mayor,  Buttigieg discussed another reason why it took him time to come out.

In the article he writes, “I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay. It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it’s just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am.” 

“Putting something this personal on the pages of a newspaper does not come easy. We Midwesterners are instinctively private to begin with, and I’m not used to viewing this as anyone else’s business.

“But it’s clear to me that at a moment like this, being more open about it could do some good,” Buttigieg continued. 

This isn’t the first time Carlson has gone on a anti-LGBTQI rant.

In September, he accused schools and hospitals of “sex crimes” and “sexualising children” for discussing sexuality and providing gender-affirming care.