Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) warned the ideological attacks on “masculinity” were having an impact on society that is resulting in what he described as men being in “crisis.”

Hawley noted the levels of out-of-work men and the “epidemic of fatherlessness” as indicators of the crisis during an appearance on FNC’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Tuesday.

Partial transcript as follows:

CARLSON: Josh Hawley, by contrast, is the Senator from Missouri about whom they were complaining, and he joins us tonight. Senator, thank you so much for coming on. So, you felt moved to defend masculinity. How come?

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): Well, because it is in crisis. Men are in crisis, Tucker, as you pointed out. I mean, listen, we’ve got at least 16 million men in this country who are out of the labor force. They’re not just unemployed. They’re not even trying to work. And I’m talking about able-bodied men, prime-age men.

We have an epidemic of fatherlessness in this country, and what’s the left saying? The left is saying that America is a systemically oppressive place and that men are to blame, and that masculinity is to blame.

You know, if you want to be a man, if you are assertive if you’re independent, if you display those that characteristics that psychologists have associated with men for decades, then you are contributing to the oppressive place that is America. That just isn’t true, and it’s time that we call that out, and it is time that we say to young men, in particular, we need you.

We need you to be responsible. We need you to get a job and you can make this country a better place by being who you were meant to be and we should call men to that.

CARLSON: God, that’s — I mean, I can’t imagine why anyone would be anything but grateful to hear that. Why do you think that triggers the morons so much?

HAWLEY: Well, because the left, they hate this country, but they also — they don’t believe in gender. They’re trying to do away with gender, and they don’t believe in manhood or womanhood. I mean, these are the same people who are trying to do away with women’s sports. Let’s not forget, Tucker.

CARLSON: Right.

HAWLEY: So, this is a war on gender all the way around, and I think the idea of having independent men and independent women for that matter, but independent men who would actually go to work and be responsible and contribute to their families and contribute to society, the left finds that scary because those are not the kind of people who will just be told to fall in line by the government and do whatever the government says to do.

The left doesn’t want that. They don’t believe in manhood at all. They think it’s inherently oppressive. We have got to call them out on these falsehoods, and they are false, and we’ve got to call the men to responsibility.

CARLSON: For all of our sakes, men and women need each other. If one group fails, everyone suffers. I mean, that’s real. That’s how we are made, unfortunately, maybe, but it’s true.

Senator, Hawley, I appreciate your coming on tonight and for the truth that you’re telling about that. Thank you.

HAWLEY: Thank you.

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