Fox News
- Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked Pete Buttigieg for taking paternity leave.
- Carlson equated Buttigieg, who is gay, taking paternity leave to "learning how to breastfeed."
- Fox News hosts such as Jesse Watters have previously bragged about the network offering paternity leave.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson went after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for taking paternity leave during Thursday night's show, mocking the gay father of twins for "learning how to breastfeed."
"Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child," Carlson said, incorrectly stating that Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, adopted one child when they actually adopted twin newborns.
"Paternity leave, they call it," he continued, "trying to learn how to breastfeed. No word on how that went."
-nikki mccann screamírez 👻 (@NikkiMcR) October 15, 2021
Back in September, Pete and Chasten Buttigieg announced they became parents of a son and daughter after over a year of navigating the adoption process.
The transportation secretary returned to the job this month.
-Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) September 4, 2021
Carlson also took umbrage at Buttigieg for telling "kind of a funny little dorky dad story" about last minute Christmas shopping when asked about supply chain issues during a CNN appearance.
-RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 13, 2021
"That's not the point, Pete Buttigieg," Carlson said. "The point is, you're the transportation secretary, and our transportation grid is broken. And people can't get Christmas presents for their kids, or food that they want to eat, or things that they would like to buy."
Representatives for Carlson and Buttigieg did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
Studies have found parental leave to have both economic and childhood developmental benefits, and there is no evidence suggesting they apply less to same sex couples.
Both male and female Fox News personalities have previously attested to the network offering them parental leave, such as "Fox & Friends" host Ainsley Earhardt and "The Five" co-host Jesse Watters.
"Now I am pro-paternity," Watters said on-air back in April. "I used to mock people for taking paternity, I used to think it was a big ruse, but now, ya know, I wish I could take six weeks."
The network currently offers six weeks of paid leave to both mothers and fathers.