Carlson, Buttigieg, and Knowles – Photos: Gage Skidmore
Two of MAGA’s favorite political pundits — Tucker Carlson and Daily Wire host Michael Knowles — pushed a wild conspiracy theory on Carlson’s podcast that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is faking his sexual orientation for political gain, with Carlson deriding him as “the fake gay guy.”
Knowles responded that he has a friend “who thinks [Buttigieg is] a fake gay.”
“My gay producer is always like, ‘he’s not gay,'” Carlson said, claiming Buttigieg “was with a girl like 20 minutes ago” and suggesting he only identifies as gay to boost his political ambitions. “It’s like ‘time for a gay guy!'” he added, leaning on a common right-wing trope that mocks Democrats for promoting diversity.
Carlson offered no evidence to back up his claim. Buttigieg, who came out a decade ago while serving as mayor of South Bend, has been married to his husband, Chasten, since 2018, and the couple are raising two children.
“I know this character: He went to the elite school, he goes to [management consulting firm] McKinsey, and he…checks [the boxes],” Knowles said.
Carlson chimed in: “And finds some benighted Midwestern town where he can just become mayor,” dismissing South Bend despite the fact Buttigieg, the son of two Notre Dame professors, was born and raised there.
After bashing South Bend and calling Buttigieg’s record as mayor “subpar,” Carlson complained that Buttigieg has repeatedly declined interview requests. He told Knowles that if he ever landed one, he would ask Buttigieg “very specific questions about gay sex and see if he can even answer. I doubt he even knows. … You’re not gay, dude. Stop.”
Knowles speculated that if conservatives set the cultural incentives, Buttigieg — whom he called an opportunist — would have adopted a very different brand of politics.
“If the incentives in the corporations, and all of the DEI offices…if all the incentives were not to be America-hating, gay, liberal, LGBT, Pete Buttigieg, I am convinced…he would be waving the ‘Stars and Bars’ [the U.S. Confederate flag], doing dip, whatever incentive were there, he’d go to it,” Knowles said.
Carlson agreed, saying Buttigieg “absolutely” would shift his politics if the incentives were different.
The speculation comes as Buttigieg is seen as one of the top three contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. According to AL.com, recent polling shows the former Transportation Secretary trailing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris among Democratic voters.
For decades, figures in the right-wing media ecosystem — from politicians to podcasters — have pushed narratives targeting Democrats they see as emerging threats. The claims about Buttigieg’s “fake” sexuality, alleged lack of convictions, and supposed opportunism fit that familiar pattern of spreading misleading attacks designed to tarnish Democrats with casual or socially conservative voters, particularly those holding anti-LGBTQ views.
Carlson raised similar claims in 2022, while hosting Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News. He argued that “until just a few years ago, Buttigieg wouldn’t even admit that he was gay,” and accused him of hiding his sexuality during his military service, saying he had “lied about it for reasons he has never been asked to explain.”
Buttigieg has said he didn’t come out sooner because when he joined the U.S. Navy Reserve in 2009, the now-defunct “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was still in effect, threatening expulsion for service members believed to be gay.
Buttigieg came out in 2015, after a deployment to Afghanistan, partly to draw attention to Indiana’s controversial “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” then being debated by state lawmakers. Critics warned the measure, signed by then-Gov. Mike Pence, would allow discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Loudoun County Public Schools will maintain its LGBTQ nondiscrimination policies -- including allowing transgender students to use facilities that match their gender identity -- despite threats of penalties from the U.S. Department of Education.
On August 12, after a closed session meeting, the Loudoun County School Board voted 6-3 to inform the Department of Education that while it was open to further discussion, it could not "at this time" agree to the changes the agency demanded, reports The Washington Post.
On July 29, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court struck down two sections of St. Lucia's criminal code that banned "buggery" and "gross indecency," ruling the laws unconstitutional. The court found that criminalizing private, consensual acts violated fundamental rights to privacy, equality, and liberty guaranteed by St. Lucia's constitution.
Although rarely enforced, the laws carried penalties of up to 10 years in prison. Civil rights advocates argued that their continued existence endangered the LGBTQ community, leaving members vulnerable to harassment, abuse, and violence.
Laura Loomer, the far-right influencer with close ties to President Donald Trump, claimed during a deposition in her defamation lawsuit against HBO that sources close to the former president told her U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is gay.
Loomer is suing the network over comments by comedian Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher, who joked that she had an affair with Trump. She alleges Maher's on-air remark about her "sleeping with Trump" -- echoing a rumor circulating at the time -- cost her a job in the Trump administration and the political influence that would have come with it. HBO has argued that Maher's comment is protected under the First Amendment, just as Loomer's own inflammatory remarks are shielded when she targets her political enemies.
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