Pete Hegseth Says Trump Told Him ‘Keep Fighting’ Amid Allegations
https://conservativebrief.com/pete-told-87706/
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department intimated during a hallway interview at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday that he’s not going to drop out of consideration despite mounting allegations of sexual and personal misconduct.
Former Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth, an Army officer with documented combat experience, said that he spoke with Trump earlier in the day and that the president-elect encouraged him to “keep fighting.”
“I spoke to the President-elect this morning. He said keep going, keep fighting… Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter,” he told a reporter.
Asked directly if he was thinking of withdrawing his name amid the allegations, Hegseth said he was on Capitol Hill to meet with senators and that would continue.
Trump announced Hegseth as his SECDEF nominee about a week after he soundly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I am honored to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my Cabinet as The Secretary of Defense. Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” Trump said in the statement.
“Pete is a graduate of Princeton University, and has a Graduate Degree from Harvard University. He is an Army Combat Veteran who did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan. For his actions on the battlefield, he was decorated with two Bronze Stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Pete has been a host at FOX News for eight years, where he used that platform to fight for our Military and Veterans. Pete’s recent book, “The War on Warriors,” spent nine weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE,” he added.
Trump concluded, “The book reveals the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence. Pete has also led two Veterans Advocacy organizations, leading the fight for our Warriors, and our great Veterans. Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.”
Since then, Hegseth has been inundated with allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking while serving as head of a veterans’ advocacy organization.
“Hegseth…drank in ways that concerned his colleagues at Fox News, according to 10 current and former Fox employees who spoke with NBC News,” the outlet reported.
“Two of those people said that on more than a dozen occasions during Hegseth’s time as a co-host of ‘Fox & Friends Weekend,’ which began in 2017, they smelled alcohol on him before he went on air. Those same two people, plus another, said that during his time there he appeared on television after they’d heard him talk about being hungover as he was getting ready or on set,” the outlet added.
But other former and current Fox News personalities and colleagues vehemently refute the allegations.