Hegseth’s Mom Does Damage Control as Trump Considers Dropping Him
Pete Hegseth is attempting to defend himself against a slew of misconduct allegations that threaten his nomination as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense — with some help from his mom.
Penelope Hegseth appeared on Fox & Friends on Wednesday to defend her son’s nomination and counteract the damage done by the public release of a 2018 email in which she called him an “abuser of women,” and decried his treatment of his second wife during their divorce.
Pete Hegseth was a Fox News host for years before Trump nominated him to lead the Pentagon. His mother told Steve Doocy on Wednesday that her son “is not that man he was seven years ago.”
“Go back seven years, if we all went back seven years, we would see maybe we are not the people we are today,” she said. “They were going through — Pete and his wife — were going through a difficult divorce, a very emotional time, and I’m sure many of you across the country understand how difficult divorce is on a family.” Penelope Hegseth claimed she wrote another email to her son hours after sending him the scathing rebuke and “retracted” her statements.
“Disregard the media. That was seven years ago, most of it is misinformation,” she said.
In the email, which The New York Times reported on over the weekend, Penelope Hegseth excoriates her son for his treatment of women. “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego,” she wrote in the email. “You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”
Penelope Hegseth’s letter is only one data point in a web of misconduct allegations that threaten to derail Hegseth’s bid for a spot as Secretary of Defense. The former Fox host has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, fostering a climate of sexual harassment while in charge of a conservative veterans group, and harboring a drinking problem that concerned even his former co-workers at Fox.
Despite being furious at Hegseth for not disclosing his dirty laundry during the vetting process, as Rolling Stone reported, Trump’s team is publicly attempting to salvage his confirmation, even as Trump weighs other options.
According to a Tuesday report from The Wall Street Journal, the president-elect has been quietly floating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a potential DOD nominee should Hegseth’s prospects tank. Sources told the paper that Trump has been suggesting DeSantis as a potential fallback to guests at Mar-a-Lago. Other outlets confirmed that Trump has been considering DeSantis, and even that the two have talked about the prospect.
Trump and DeSantis were locked in a nasty fight for the Republican nomination earlier this year, but Trump’s view of DeSantis seems to have softened in the months since the GOP primaries. According to a Wednesday report from The Bulwark, part of DeSantis’ appeal may be the chain of nepotistic appointments he could conduct for Trump.
Trump already tapped Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio to serve as his Secretary of State. DeSantis is tasked with appointing someone to fill the vacant seat, and is said to be considering Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump for the role. Offering DeSantis a Cabinet position could sweeten Lara Trump’s prospects.
“Who knows what’s going to happen,” one DeSantis adviser told The Bulwark. “This is Trump’s world. We’re all just living in it.”
Hegseth was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with the Republican senators who will decide whether to confirm him. “I spoke to the President-Elect this morning, he said keep going, keep fighting,” he told reporters.
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