GOP Rep 'Very Surprised' By Tucker Carlson's Vulgar Remarks

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) is speaking out on Fox News ’ Tucker Carlson amid uproar over the cable host’s past derogatory comments about women .

“He’s never said anything like that to me or around me,” the congressman, who said he knows Carlson both personally and from his own on-air appearances, told CNN Monday. “I grew up with a single mother, I’m a dad of a little girl, and I’m very surprised to hear that.”

On Sunday, Media Matters for America published years’ worth of clips from Carlson’s interviews on radio program “Bubba the Love Sponge,” during which he spouted misogyny and called rape shield laws “totally unfair.”

In a statement posted on Twitter Sunday night, Carlson refused to apologize, chalking it up to him having been caught “saying something naughty.” If audiences really want to know what Carlson thinks, he said, they should tune in to his primetime weeknight broadcast.

Stunned by Carlson’s history of sexism, Waltz called himself “a huge proponent of girls’ education, of women’s empowerment.”

“This is not just a domestic issue here that we need to get better on this is a national security issue,” he argued, contending that societies that promote women’s rights don’t face issues with extremism. 

“If I ever hear that type of language, I’ll be sure to take it head-on,” Waltz vowed.

Fox News has not yet offered any response to Carlson’s remarks.