Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Friday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson’s criticism showed he did not understand “the concept of bottle-feeding.”
Thursday night on his show, Carlson said, “Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child – paternity leave, they call it – trying to figure out how to breastfeed. No word on how that went.”
Anchor Nicolle Wallace said, “I would say to Tucker Carlson, don’t knock it ’til you try it. What are these attacks about?”
Buttigieg said, “Well, look, in his case, I guess he just doesn’t understand the concept of bottle feeding, let alone the concept of paternity leave. But what is really strange is that, you know, this is from a side of the aisle that used to claim the mantle of being pro-family. What we have right now is an administration that’s actually pro-family. I’m blessed to be able to experience that as an employee, being able to have the flexibility to take care of our newborn children.”
Wallace, responded, “It feels homophobic to suggest that you were trying to figure out breastfeeding. I mean, it feels dirtier than that. How does this attack land for you and Chasten?”
Buttigieg said, “Well, look, this attack is coming from a guy who has yet to explain his apparent approval for the assassination of Harvey Milk. So, obviously, we know that there’s some dark places where some of these attitudes come from. But I also note that that doesn’t speak for the country. I don’t think that even speaks for most people on the other side of the aisle from the party that I belong to.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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