Pete Hegseth Tells Megyn Kelly Trump Is Still Supportive Despite Smears from Media ‘Hyenas’: ‘I Don’t Owe Them Answers’
Screenshot via Megyn Kelly Show
Pete Hegseth told Megyn Kelly that President-elect Donald Trump is standing behind him amid controversy, all of which Hegseth chalked up to a “smear” campaign by the media.
Hegseth, a combat veteran and former Fox News host, met with senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as questions loom about his chances of getting confirmed as Secretary of Defense. Hegseth has faced controversy on multiple fronts since Trump announced his nomination.
Hegseth has denied a 2017 sexual assault allegation — which included payment to the accuser as part of a non-disclosure agreement, which Hegseth’s lawyer said was made to protect Hegseth’s reputation against a false accusation — and Hegseth’s own mother appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to explain a years-old email obtained by The New York Times in which she called her son an “abuser of women.” According to her, she quickly retracted the email and apologized, saying her emotional message stemmed issues involving Hegseth’s divorce at the time.
Other media reports have suggested Hegseth has a drinking problem — which he denied in the Kelly interview. A whistleblower report was also released this week regarding Hegseth’s time with Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) from 2013 to 2016, which included some explosive allegations suggesting a hostile workplace environment.
In a Wednesday op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Hegseth vowed that he wouldn’t “back down.”
“I look forward to an honest confirmation hearing, not a press show trial based on anonymous accusations,” he wrote.
In his interview with Kelly for SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, Hegseth said he spoke to Trump that morning and that the president-elect warned Hegseth that he will “need to be tough as shit” to make it through the confirmation process. Hegseth said senators were expressing support on Wednesday when he met with them.
Hegseth said of Trump:
“I spoke to him this morning, Megyn. I mean, he’s amazing. He’s a fighter. He’s been through this himself. And he told me — the last thing he said to me or two things he said to me when I left his office when he chose me was — besides what he said about being a war fighter we can get into — that was you’re going to need to be tough as shit. You need to be tough as shit. But he paused again as I was walking away and said, but you’re the man for this moment. I chose you because you’re the guy that’s going to put the war fighters first. We haven’t had that. We need a guy that’s kicked down doors and understands the consequences of war. And why us? Deterring war, fighting it, and winning, it is important. And he gets it. And we can get into the policy of all of that. But ultimately, he reiterated the same thing this morning. ‘Hey, Pete, I got your back. It’s a fight. They’re coming after you. Get after it.’ I think he’ll be delighted that we’re talking today and we’re going to do more talking. Because for so long, what was said about me, What has been said about me, it was so ridiculous and all anonymous — we didn’t want to give it oxygen. You don’t want to respond to things that are don’t merit response. And so we have it. But the sitting here with you and going forward, you know, the media is driving with this ridiculous narrative. It’s our turn to it’s our time to stand up and tell the truth and our side. And he knows that. And so he supports me.”
After meeting with senators on Wednesday, Hegseth referred reporters to the Kelly interview for answers to their questions.
“I don’t answer these questions to the the hyenas in the hallway trying to chirp at my wife and I as we walk down the hallway. I don’t owe them an answer. I owe an answer to the members of the United States Senate who are going to vote for a confirmation here,” he said. “And my meetings with them have been fantastic. No one has looked me in the eye and say I have concerns and I can’t vote for you. In fact, most have said, let’s take a picture and I’m behind you all the way.”
Hegseth said Trump told him he wants “lethality, lethality, lethality” when the former Fox News host takes over the Department of Defense, as well as getting rid of “woke crap” in the military.
“If you wanted another general or another admiral or an executive or a CEO or a politician or a lawyer to run the Defense Department, we’ve tried that before,” he said. “[Trump] said, ‘I want a war fighter. I want lethality, lethality, lethality. I want readiness, accountability, standards, war fighting. Pete, that’s you. That’s me. Clean house of the woke crap. All that stuff.'”
Watch above via The Megyn Kelly Show.
