Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came out as gay a decade ago and rose to become the first out gay cabinet secretary confirmed by Congress, but right-wing political commentators Tucker Carlson and Michael Knowles appear to think it’s all an act.
In a bizarre conversation with Knowles on “The Tucker Carlson Show” podcast, Carlson made the case that Buttigieg is a “fake gay guy” and should demonstrate his knowledge of gay sex.
After Carlson asked if Knowles was referring to “the fake gay guy,” Knowles said he has “a friend who thinks [Buttigieg is] a fake gay.”
“My gay producer is always like, ‘he’s not gay,’” Carlson said. “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!’”
Knowles then said Buttigieg is “playing the long game” and that he knows people like Buttigieg.
“I know the character: He went to the elite school and he goes to McKinsey, and he does the checks,” Knowles said. In response, Carlson said Buttigieg found “some benited midwestern town that he can just, like, become mayor of,” referring to Buttigieg’s stint as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, where he was born and where he graduated from high school.
Carlson went on to say he has always wanted to interview Buttigieg, but has been unsuccessful.
“He’s never agreed to an interview, but I’m going to ask him like some very specific questions about gay sex and see if he can even answer,” Carlson said. “I doubt he even knows.”
Despite those outlandish and false allegations, Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, have been married since 2018 and have two children.
In 2022, when Carlson was still hosting “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News, he similarly questioned Buttigieg’s sexual orientation, saying, “And the funny, ironic thing is that until just a few years ago, Buttigieg wouldn’t even admit that he was gay.” Carlson also said Buttigieg “hid” his sexual orientation when he was in the military and “then lied about it for reasons he has never been asked to explain.”
Meanwhile, Knowles, who once called for “transgenderism to be eradicated,” seems to have familiarity with the notion of being a fake gay person. A years-old video posted on YouTube appears to show Knowles portraying a character who sleeps with another man, and The Daily Dot reported in 2023 that he dressed in drag in 2016 despite Knowles’ record of criticizing drag shows.
