Pete Buttigieg scoffed at Tucker Carlson’s strange desire to grill him with intimate questions on his sexuality.
Carlson bizarrely accused the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation of being “a fake gay guy” and wants to get to the bottom of it by asking him “very specific questions about gay sex.”
Buttigieg, who came out as gay in 2015, said he wouldn’t want to “discuss anything with Tucker Carlson.” And this matter puts him off the most.
“I cannot think of a topic I would like to discuss less with Tucker Carlson than that,” he said, holding back laughter, at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor to journalist Kara Swisher.
The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor admitted that he does have a bit of “morbid curiosity,” but quickly backpedaled, saying, “Actually, no.”
Carlson launched his heterosexual allegations when speaking with conservative commentator Michael Knowles on a Sept. 3 episode of his podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show.
“My gay producer was always like ‘he’s not gay.’ He was with a girl like 20 minutes ago and like he wants to be the Democratic nominee, it’s like ‘Time for a gay guy!’” Carlson said.
Carlson continued, echoing Buttigieg’s sentiment about not wanting to speak with the alt-right podcaster.
“He’s never agreed to interview, but I’m gonna ask him like some very specific questions about gay sex and see if he can even answer. I doubt he even knows!” Carlson said.
It is unclear why Carlson, who has been married to his wife for more than 30 years, believes he is an expert on gay sex.
Buttigieg came out as gay while serving as the mayor of his hometown, South Bend, Indiana.
He married his partner, Chasten Buttigieg, in 2018, and three years later, the couple adopted twins—a boy and a girl.
Buttigieg joked that Carlson’s out-of-left-field theory is actually progressive.
“I suppose it’s a sign of progress that their idea of a conspiracy is that I’m actually secretly straight,” he joked. “We are through the looking glass now.”
Swisher, who was one of the few openly gay tech journalists in the ’90s, gave some advice to Buttigieg, which she claims has proved helpful for her.
“You have to say, ‘Tucker, I’m not interested,’” she said. “‘Stop flirting with me.’ They go away really quick.”
