Pete Hegseth’s troubled nomination for defense secretary faces fresh complications after CNN unearthed footage Tuesday of Trump’s Pentagon pick sharply criticizing the president-elect during the 2016 campaign.
“It’s typical Trump, all bluster, very little substance,” Hegseth declared on Fox News in March 2016. “He talks a tough game. But then, when pressed on it, he’s an armchair tough guy. I hate to say it, but this is a guy who said that John McCain is not a war hero. Yet he sought his own five military deferments.”
This resurfaced criticism arrives at a particularly difficult moment for Hegseth, as allegations of misconduct threaten to derail his nomination before confirmation hearings begin. The former Fox News host paid a settlement to a woman who accused him of sexual assault—an allegation he denies. Recent reporting also revealed his forced departures from two veterans organizations over claims of financial mismanagement and sexual impropriety.
Adding to Hegseth’s troubles, multiple Fox News colleagues told NBC News they repeatedly detected alcohol on his breath before broadcasts. “Everyone would be talking about it behind the scenes before he went on the air,” one former employee said.
In a striking twist, even Hegseth’s mother questioned his character in a 2018 email obtained by The New York Times. “You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth, and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego,” Penelope Hegseth wrote during his divorce proceedings.
The mounting controversies have Republican senators expressing public concerns. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Hegseth must answer “hard questions” about his alleged behavior. Texas Senator John Cornyn, while noting he’s known Hegseth “for a long time,” declined to predict if the nomination would survive.
Sources close to Trump indicate he’s already considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a potential replacement – creating an ironic scenario where Trump’s nomination process has exposed damaging information about Hegseth that might not have otherwise surfaced.
The situation reflects an odd recurring pattern in Trump’s cabinet picks, where controversial nominees face intense scrutiny that uncovers problematic histories that otherwise likely would not have been uncovered, much less become front-page news. Last month, Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his attorney general nomination amid similar mounting pressures.
If a person didn’t know any better, you’d almost wonder if Trump is either trying to embarrass them in some way or he’s purposefully throwing manifestly incompetent people to the nomination wall for his personal vanity to see what sorts of foolishness he can get away with.
In perhaps the most revealing footage from 2015, Hegseth criticized getting military advice from television, saying, “Foreign policy and national security is not about TV shows.” Now, the former television host must convince senators he possesses the expertise to lead the world’s most powerful military despite having no high-level Pentagon experience.
The Trump transition team defended Hegseth’s past criticisms as part of his role as a Fox News commentator. But with the transition team now agreeing to FBI background checks for nominees, Hegseth faces a challenging path to confirmation as new allegations continue emerging.
Published: Dec 5, 2024 07:23 am