'Obviously ignorant': GOP rep slams 'manipulative' Tucker Carlson 'who abuses viewers for personal profit'
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) recently blasted Fox News' Tucker Carlson for criticizing U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg after he took parental leave last year following the birth of his twins/
According to Business Insider, conservatives are complaining about Buttigieg taking time off because they believe "he hasn't been attentive enough to the ongoing supply-chain issues that have plagued the United States throughout the COVID-19 pandemic."
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Kinzinger defended Buttigieg and pushed back against accusations he isn't doing his job.
"I highly doubt that the secretary was totally disconnected from work. Although he probably could have been and should have been. But he has deputies, I'm sure he was in touch. And [Fox News host] Tucker Carlson took nothing but a cheap shot at him because it was a temporary hit of Pixy Stix or a shot of heroin, it makes people feel great, they stay on. The rage works. And he created rage," Kinzinger told the magazine.
"Talking about Pete Buttigieg learning how to breastfeed — like, c'mon man. You're obviously ignorant," he added. "Which I don't think. I think Tucker's really smart. You're a manipulative son of a bitch who abuses your viewers for your own personal profit."
Kinzinger's interview comes after Carlson's criticism of Buttigieg during his primetime broadcast several weeks ago.
"Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child. Paternity leave, they call it, trying to figure out how to breastfeed. No word on how that went," Carlson said at the time.
Buttigieg also pushed back against Carlson with a fiery response of his own. "I guess he just doesn't understand the concept of bottle feeding, let alone the concept of paternity leave," he said.
He later added, "This is largely a consensus issue … moms and dads ought to be able to support their children including with paid family leave."
