Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg fired back at Fox News host Tucker Carlson after he mocked Buttigieg for taking paternity leave after the birth of his twins.
“As you might imagine, we’re bottle-feeding and doing it at all hours of the day and night,” Buttigieg said on Sunday. “And I’m not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson or anyone else for taking care of my premature newborn infant twins. The work that we are doing is joyful, fulfilling, wonderful work. It’s important work, and it’s work that every American ought to be able to do when they welcome a new child into their family. I campaigned on that.”
Secretary Buttigieg has received criticism from the right for remaining on paternity leave while the U.S. is experiencing supply chain issues that are raising the costs of goods and causing shortages, according to the Hill.
Last week Carlson went a step further when be mocked Buttigieg saying he was “trying to figure out how to breastfeed,” his newborn twins he adopted with his husband Chasten Buttigieg.
Buttigieg said on Sunday that even though he is on leave he is still available “24/7, depending on what’s going on, and you’re going to have to engage, and I did even if that meant taking a phone call or making a decision from a hospital room.”
