Pete Buttigieg laughs off Tucker Carlson’s ‘Fake Gay’ claim: “My husband might revoke my gay card”

Pete Buttigieg has responded to conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson’s wild allegation that he is a “fake gay” man who lied about his sexuality to boost his political career.

Speaking on Kara Swisher’s podcast, the former US Transportation Secretary and one-time presidential hopeful dismissed the claim with a wry smile, saying: “I suppose it's a sign of progress that their idea of a conspiracy is that I'm actually secretly straight.”

The bizarre accusation was made by Carlson during a September episode of his podcast, where he claimed Buttigieg had been with a woman “like 20 minutes ago” and was chosen as a candidate simply because “it’s time for a gay guy”. Carlson even said he wanted to ask Buttigieg “very specific questions about gay sex” to test his authenticity.

Buttigieg, who has been married to his husband Chasten since 2018 and is a father to four-year-old twins Penelope and Joseph, found the notion both absurd and invasive.

“I cannot think of a topic I would like to discuss less with Tucker Carlson than that,” he said. “Even though I will admit some level of morbid curiosity on what in the hell he thinks… Actually, no.”

Swisher jokingly teased Buttigieg for not recognising a meme popular in the gay community, saying she was “starting to agree with Tucker Carlson on this fake gay thing.” Buttigieg responded with a laugh:

“Chasten, my husband, has threatened to have my gay card revoked so many times. This is just going to be the latest.”

The interview also touched on Buttigieg’s near-selection as Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Harris revealed in her memoir that Buttigieg was her first choice, but she ultimately chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz due to concerns about the optics of pairing her race and gender with Buttigieg’s sexuality.

“He would have been an ideal partner - if I were a straight white man,” Harris wrote. “Part of me wanted to say, ‘Screw it, let’s just do it.’ But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.”