Pete Buttigieg slams Fox News host after homophobic hit job

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg responded to Fox News host Tucker Carlson's vile, homophobic attack from Thursday night, by defending the right of every new parent to take paternity or maternity leave and spend time building bonds that will last a lifetime.

Buttigieg, known for being able to incisively carve up conservative hate, had no problem correcting Carlson's claims.

Carlson, who regularly spreads white nationalistic, white supremacist, and fascistic rhetoric that clearly is supported by Fox News chiefs Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch, on Thursday berated Buttigieg for taking paternity leave as he and his husband, Chasten welcome two newborn twins into their family.

"Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child," Carlson had told Fox news viewers. "Paternity leave, they call it, trying to figure out how to breastfeed – no word on how that went."

Buttigieg struck back on Friday, telling MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace Carlson's "attack is coming from a guy who has yet to explain his apparent approval for the assassination of Harvey Milk."

Carlson, in his college yearbook, reportedly wrote that he was a member of the "Dan White Society." There is no Dan White Society, but Dan White is the man who assassinated Harvey Milk, one of America's first openly-gay elected officials. At the same time, in 1978, he also assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.

"So, you know, obviously we know that there's some dark places where some of these attitudes come from," Buttigieg continued.

"But I also note that that doesn't speak for the country," he said of Carlson's homophobic and anti-family remark.

"I don't think that even speaks for most people, on the other side of the aisle from the party that I belong to. This is largely a consensus issue, not just the support for families like mine to have a right to marry and right to be treated equally, but also that families in general. Moms and dads have to be able to support their children including with paid leave."

Buttigieg, as NCRM reported Thursday night, is correct: 86% of Americans support paid paternity leave. And seven out of 10 Americans support same-sex marriage. Sadly, U.S. federal law does not require companies to offer it, but as Wallace noted, Tucker Carlson's employer does.

Watch: