Pete Hegseth Speaks Out in Exclusive Interview, Addressing Media Smears, Responding to Accusations, and How He'd Reform Military | Ep. 957

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Pete Hegseth Speaks Out in Exclusive Interview" | The Megyn Kelly Show, Ep. 957

Introduction In Episode 957 of The Megyn Kelly Show, released on December 4, 2024, host Megyn Kelly engages in a candid and comprehensive interview with Pete Hegseth, a nominee for Secretary of Defense. This exclusive conversation delves deep into the myriad of allegations swirling around Hegseth, addressing media smears, personal accusations, and his vision for reforming the military.

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Addressing Allegations and Media Smears

Megyn Kelly begins the discussion by highlighting the numerous allegations against Hegseth, including accusations of excessive drinking, rape, infidelity, and financial mismanagement of veterans' charities.

• Megyn Kelly [00:12–02:20]: "Pete and I go way back... We've gone through the alleged rape charge against Pete in great detail... nothing off limits... all the allegations of excessive drinking, that explosive alleged rape charge, the allegations that he's a philanderer..."

Hegseth vehemently denies the rape allegation, emphasizing that no charges were filed after a thorough police investigation. He critiques the media’s handling of the allegations, labeling them as part of an orchestrated smear campaign aimed at discrediting him.

• Pete Hegseth [08:24–10:50]: "It's the classic art of the smear... They take whatever tiny kernels of truth and blow them up into a masquerade of a narrative... I work really hard to be kind and fair to people."

Support from Friends and Colleagues

Throughout the interview, Hegseth underscores the unwavering support he has received from colleagues and friends, particularly from his time at Fox News. He cites endorsements from prominent figures like Will Kane, Dan Bongino, and members of his veterans' organizations.

• Pete Hegseth [16:49–18:13]: "Dozens of people from my vets organization, Medal of Honor winners everywhere... Fox Friends have all come out and say, this is not Pete."

Kelly adds that numerous individuals from Hegseth’s past, including Fox News hosts and executives, have publicly defended his character, further questioning the credibility of the accusations.

• Megyn Kelly [28:56–29:57]: "Holly Talley... Karen Vaughn... Mark Lucas... they're going on the record to say I stand by this guy."

Personal Transformation and Accountability

Hegseth opens up about his personal journey, acknowledging past mistakes in his marriages but attributing his transformation to his faith and his relationship with his wife, Jennifer.

• Pete Hegseth [22:35–25:05]: "People cannot believe that if they don't want to... those moments in those places in my relationship with Jen... I become a changed man... I've never had that perspective before."

He discusses his commitment to sobriety while serving as Secretary of Defense, drawing parallels to military protocols that prohibit alcohol during deployments.

• Pete Hegseth [35:45–36:29]: "My job is to follow the law... I need to make sure... there won't be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I'm doing it."

Financial Allegations and Organizational Management

Addressing concerns about financial mismanagement in veterans' organizations he led, Hegseth provides a detailed account of his tenure at Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. He denies any impropriety, attributing financial challenges to strategic decisions during political campaigns.

• Pete Hegseth [36:45–40:55]: "We were very successful and proud of it... We paid it all off and we squared it away. There was zero impropriety... We were just amateurs at that moment in time."

He counters reports from sources like The New Yorker by highlighting testimonials from respected figures who vouch for his integrity and leadership.

• Pete Hegseth [43:03–46:39]: "Dozens of people... say that never happened... They are agenda drivers whose whole job is to try to destroy anyone who supports Donald Trump."

Vision for the Department of Defense

When questioned about his plans as Secretary of Defense, Hegseth outlines a clear agenda focused on restoring military lethality, eliminating distractions like CRT, DEI, and climate initiatives, and maintaining high standards based solely on capability.

• Pete Hegseth [59:39–61:27]: "The military has been distracted from its core mission, which is lethality. CRT, DEI, climate and green initiatives... get rid of it. Let's bring the Pentagon back to the people, the people's Pentagon for war fighters."

He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a hyper-ready and capable military to address current and emerging threats, aligning his strategies with President Trump's America First agenda.

• Pete Hegseth [62:10–64:40]: "We live in one of the most dangerous times since the end of the Cold War... peace through strength... a hyper ready force ready to take on the next threat."

Handling Confirmation and Future Challenges

Hegseth expresses confidence in facing confirmation hearings, welcoming an FBI investigation as an opportunity to clear his name through thorough investigation.

• Pete Hegseth [56:24–56:53]: "I can't wait for an FBI investigation... If they do their job properly... that gives me an opportunity for them to do a real investigation."

He underscores his commitment to truth and resilience, drawing inspiration from President Trump’s support and the testimonials of those who know him best.

• Pete Hegseth [53:47–55:02]: "Everyone who truly knows me and has been with me... said they stand by this guy... There's an arsenal of lies they mobilize to destroy."

Conclusion

The interview concludes with reflections on personal redemption and the importance of faith and family in overcoming adversity. Hegseth reiterates his dedication to serving the country and defending the principles he believes in, regardless of the challenges posed by the ongoing smear campaign.

• Pete Hegseth [66:57–69:41]: "It's a great new story of redemption, of family healing... I love my mom... I'm going through a divorce... it's about family and family repair."

Megyn Kelly offers words of encouragement, expressing belief in Hegseth’s potential and the positive changes he has undergone.

• Megyn Kelly [55:50–56:14]: "I think greatness awaits... your newfound connection to him... more goodness breeds more goodness."

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Key Takeaways

• Denial of Allegations: Hegseth firmly denies rape and excessive drinking allegations, attributing them to a coordinated media smear campaign.
• Support Network: He highlights strong endorsements from former colleagues and veterans, reinforcing his integrity and leadership capabilities.
• Personal Growth: Hegseth discusses his transformation through faith and personal relationships, emphasizing accountability and change.
• Financial Integrity: He defends his management of veterans' organizations, dismissing claims of financial mismanagement as unfounded.
• Military Reform Vision: Hegseth outlines a strategy focused on restoring military lethality, removing non-essential distractions, and maintaining high performance standards.
• Resilience in Confirmation: He welcomes thorough investigations to clear his name and remains steadfast in his pursuit to serve as Secretary of Defense.

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Notable Quotes:

• Megyn Kelly [08:24]: "Kavanaugh stood up and he fought and he won. And hopefully Republicans have learned that lesson."
• Pete Hegseth [16:49]: "Dozens of people from my vets organization, Medal of Honor winners everywhere."
• Pete Hegseth [22:35]: "I've become a changed man... I'm just grateful for the grace of God that gives me a new chapter."
• Pete Hegseth [35:45]: "There won't be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I'm doing it."
• Pete Hegseth [36:45]: "There was zero impropriety... We were just amateurs at that moment in time."
• Pete Hegseth [59:39]: "The military has been distracted from its core mission, which is lethality."
• Pete Hegseth [62:10]: "Peace through strength... a hyper ready force ready to take on the next threat."
• Pete Hegseth [56:53]: "I'm not just talking about people that were on the stage with me... that's patently false and patently ridiculous."
• Pete Hegseth [66:57]: "It's a great new story of redemption, of family healing."

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Conclusion The interview between Megyn Kelly and Pete Hegseth offers an in-depth look into Hegseth's defense against a barrage of allegations, his unwavering support from peers, and his strategic vision for the Department of Defense. It serves as a comprehensive narrative for listeners to understand the complexities surrounding his nomination and the personal and professional challenges he faces.

Transcript

[Megyn Kelly]

Welcome to the Megyn Kelly show, live.

[Unknown Announcer]

On SiriusXM, channel 111 every weekday at noon East.

[Megyn Kelly]

Hey, everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly. Welcome to the Megyn Kelly Show. Today, an MK show exclusive. Pete Hegseth, nominee for Secretary of Defense, sits down with yours truly in an exclusive and his first interview after the. After being nominated and after the allegations against him have been swirling and being launched from virtually every corner of the mainstream media, which clearly does not want him to have this job. Pete and I go way back. I've told you this before. We worked together on Fox News for a number of years. He became a contributor with my full endorsement and backing, and we became friends while I was at Fox. And I haven't spent a lot of time with Pete over the last 10 years or so, but I've long respected him and his service to the country. I've been really dismayed by the amount of pylon that he's been suffering, and I've been outraged by the unfairness of the media's coverage of the allegations. You're gonna be able to decide for yourself whether the allegations are true, relevant and dispositive for this position. But my own goal was to give Pete the chance to respond to them, to bring context to them in the course of the interview. So you would know, are they anonymous? Are they backed by a specific person saying who they are and how they know Pete and what is the evidence on the other side? I believe that's the job of a journalist, to air the news, to discuss frankly what the allegations are, and to give the audience enough information to make up their own minds. We've gone through the alleged rape charge against Pete in great detail. We've devoted entire shows to it. That was just a week or so ago, so check the archives of the program if you'd like to see. But today, absolutely nothing off limits. And I asked him that moments before we sat down, and he said, go for it. And I knew I was going to be able to go for it, otherwise I wouldn't have done this interview. It's not how we operate. So we got into it. All the allegations of excessive drinking, that explosive alleged rape charge, the allegations that he's a philanderer and cheated on all of his wives, the allegations that he supposedly mismanaged his veterans charities, and what he would actually do at the Department of Defense.

[Unknown Announcer]

One other word.

[Megyn Kelly]

When I list all the allegations like that, it makes it sound terrible for Pete. It makes it sound like it's true. And he's a terrible man, Is it? Or is this all part of an effort to ruin a man who is threatening an institution that some powerful forces would rather not see changed? Hopefully that'll become clear to you and you'll have a takeaway at the end of the next hour. Without further ado, Pete Hegseth the Megyn.

[Unknown Announcer]

Kelly show is supported by Grand Canyon University. Founded in 1949, GCU is a private Christian university that's dedicated to delivering an affordable and transformative higher education. Their vibrant campus is located in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona and according to Niche.com ranked a top 25 best campus in the USA. As of June 2023, GCU offers 330 academic programs with over 270 of them online, allowing you the freedom to earn your degree on your time from wherever you are at gcu. Your degree, whether it's a bachelor's, master's or doctorate, integrates the free market system and a welcoming Christian worldview. Learn more about GCU's programs, competitive tuition rates and scholarship offers from your university counselor. They're part of the supportive graduation team that takes a personalized approach to helping you achieve your academic goals, walking alongside.

[Megyn Kelly]

You every step of the way.

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Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University. Private, Christian, affordable. For more info or to enroll, visit gcu.

[Megyn Kelly]

Edu Pete Hegseth Great to see you.

[Pete Hegseth]

Hey Megan, how you doing?

[Megyn Kelly]

All right. So it's been an all out assault since Trump named you, no doubt. I mean from alleged rape allegations to allegations about your marriage to financial mismanagement allegations at your companies that you ran, your foundations, I should say. How's it going with Trump right now? Is he so far standing by you and have you spoken to him?

[Pete Hegseth]

I spoke to him this morning, Megan. 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. Well, two things he said to me when I left his office when he chose me was, well, 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're going to 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 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 that 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. We talk. I won't betray what we talked about specifically. But he said, you go meet those senators and I've got your back. It means a lot to me. Tells you who that guy is.

[Megyn Kelly]

So you are meeting with them. Any open wobbliness there? Do you like. How do you like your chances right now?

[Pete Hegseth]

I mean, Donald Trump won overwhelmingly, 76 million votes. He's got 53 senators, all of which understand what the American people voted for. They voted for the change that Donald Trump is going to bring. And they knew in the picks that he's made, he's bringing in change agents. 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, 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, all the climate stuff and the CRT and the DEI and the genderism and the trend, get rid of it. Let's bring the Pentagon back to the people, the people's Pentagon for war fighters. And that's the message he gave to me that I've projected back to senators. And it resonates when I get a chance to sit down, especially with these senators from the Senate Armed Services Committee. That's the committee I'm talking to. They care about the military a lot. They've run for office, spent their lives trying to invest in it. So the advise and consent process is a real thing. Like I'm hearing from these men and women, these senators who have great ideas, want to make sure that when I'm confirmed, we're able to implement them at the Defense Department.

[Megyn Kelly]

They're worried about the military and the country. And not necessarily your love life.

[Pete Hegseth]

No, no. Or your mom or my mom, who did a fantastic job on Foxy. We're going to show some of it, by the way. You'd be surprised how little that has come up. Now, when they ask, I answer candidly. I don't answer these questions to 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. 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. And that's a reflection of Donald Trump and the strength of his election, but also the man to change something at the Defense Department. So the meetings have been great. We're going to continue doing it. We're not back down, backing down one bit.

[Megyn Kelly]

We're going to get into the specific allegations. But let me start with this. Do you think you're being Kavanad right now?

[Pete Hegseth]

I had a member not 45 minutes ago, look me in the eye in private, just he and I, and say, that's what they're trying to do to you. That's what they're trying to do to you. That's their playbook. Get ready for more. And they're going to make it up just like they have so far. All anonymous, all innuendo, all rumor, nothing sourced, no verification. And they're just going to keep doing it because you're a threat to them. You're a threat to their system. You're a threat to all the things in Washington, D.C. the swamp, the things that people have rejected. You're a threat to that. And so they're coming after you. And I know that. He knows that. And when you stand firm on that, it's not difficult to just continue to fight. So, yeah, we saw what happened. But guess what happened? Kavanaugh stood up and he fought and he won. And hopefully Republicans have learned that lesson.

[Megyn Kelly]

And Trump stood by him.

[Pete Hegseth]

And Trump stood by him. What you're seeing right now with me is the art of the smear. It is the classic art of the smear. Take whatever tiny kernels of truth and there are tiny, tiny ones in there, and blow them up into a masquerade of a narrative about somebody that I am definitely not. And what they never quote, and we'll get into this, too, are the legions of people from who I served with in combat, multiple tours, from the multiple veterans organizations that I very proudly ran. And I really want to get into that and my time at Fox News. They never asked the people closest to me. No, they never asked the people who were involved directly. And when they do, and I've got a list right here of people. And Will Kane and my co hosts at Fox News have come out, all the folks on Fox Friends have all come out and said, this is not Pete. And we've worked with Pete for 10 years. Every single morning, every single day, they never ask those people. And that's what a smear looks like. It's a couple anonymous nuggets, usually from disgruntled people who were fired for cause, who are jealous or want a little. A little bit of retribution. And so they peddle stuff to reporters who are not interested in the truth. They're interested in smearing someone who supports Donald Trump's agenda. It's really clear I'm in the middle of it, but, you know, I'm surrounded by a great team. I got a wonderful wife. We love this country. We love Jesus Christ, our savior, and. And we're gonna fight like hell. There's no reason to back down. Why would we back down?

[Megyn Kelly]

That's right.

[Pete Hegseth]

Do you know how many guys I'm hearing from right now? The guys I serve with, gals that I work with at CVA and elsewhere, don't stop. The guys are like, it's always, sir, you know, don't stop, sir, please keep going.

[Megyn Kelly]

They're behind you.

[Pete Hegseth]

You are fighting for us like you are our voice. We've never had a voice like this before.

[Megyn Kelly]

They're not upset about your drinking.

[Pete Hegseth]

You know what? There's an interesting one there. First of all, I've never had a drinking problem. I don't. No one's ever approached me and said, oh, you should really look at getting help for a drink. Never. I've never sought counseling, never sought help. I respect and appreciate people who do. But what do guys do when they come back from war? Oftentimes have some beers. How do you deal with the demons you see on the battlefield? Sometimes it's with a bottle. Unfortunately, tragically, for too many guys, it's with the bottle. And then it's depression and even worse, suicide. I mean, we've got an epidemic of that in our country. Thank God, by the grace of God, I found my chapters of purpose that pulled Me, out of that, I found in many ways, I found two things. My two J's, my Jenny, my wife Jennifer changed my life, saved me. There's just no doubt about it. And my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And without those two Js, I wouldn't be sitting here right now. But with those two Js, like my mom said this morning, and I didn't get a chance to see all of it. But God bless my mom. I'm a very different person than I was 10 years ago, than I was 15 years ago. But I'm also the right guy to be in the Pentagon to understand what our young water fighters are going through, what we send them to do, what we ask them to do, tour after tour after tour after tour. Are we equipping them properly? Are they mentally prepared? Are we helping them on the way back? How are they transitioning? Were they used properly? I can speak to that because I've lived it. Not from a general's perspective, not from an air conditioned office in Washington D.C. or from a think tank. From dusty boots and pulling triggers with bullets whizzing by and you're wondering whether you're ever coming home.

[Megyn Kelly]

You know what's funny, Pete? We've known each other for a long time since our time together at Fox News. I did not fully appreciate your military background until I started reading up on you for this position. I did not realize that you got into Princeton and then volunteered to join the military and then joined ROTC and went off to Gitmo. I mean, most guys who got into Princeton and had done that well in school would have been riding that right into investment banking or some career as a partner in law. You volunteered after you had this Ivy League start to go join the military, went down to Gitmo, served your country honorably, then came back, then re volunteered to go to Iraq during the most dangerous time you could be there, then re volunteered to go to Afghanistan all through, like, putting yourself and your life on the line and sacrificing a life that could have been very financially privileged. Eventually you wound up back at Fox News and after running a bunch of veterans charities. But it must feel somewhat galling to have members of the media now taking shots at you as unfit to lead these guys.

[Pete Hegseth]

One of the things I've enjoyed the most about this is I stay in touch with a lot of the guys I serve with. And I say guys because I served in infantry battalions. But there are. What women have done for our military is incredible. And I hope we get into that too. But has been hearing from them and they say, sir, they're reaching out, they're asking questions. What should I do? I say talk. Every single guy from Guantanamo Bay, from Iraq to Afghanistan, to when I was holding a riot shield outside of the White House during the riots in 2020, guys talk. You don't need my permission. I got nothing to hide. Go talk to the reporters about what we did together, the shared purpose we had. We were different people from different backgrounds, different colors, different shades, different everything, but we were united in purpose, and we're brothers forever as a result. And so hearing them talk about me and their willingness to do it actively has been really, really cool. I mean, that's actually. I don't care what politicians think about me or what pundits think about me. Certainly not media and reporters. But the guys you pulled triggers with and went out on patrol with and left the wire with, stayed in combat outposts with or guarded asshole Al Qaeda detainees with, what they think matters a lot to me. And that's the perspective I'm taking into the Pentagon. That's the perspective is how are we using these men and women? Are we training them properly? Are we giving them, Are we wiping away the garbage of political correct, social justice nonsense and focusing just on lethality and meritocracy? Because men and women like that are going to fight future wars that Donald Trump's gonna have to make a decision about whether we enter or not. And I'm humbled to be in a position where I could come alongside him and say, our men and women are ready, they're prepared, and if we have to use them, they're ready to win. And I'll always be thinking about those men and women that I served with because that's who I want to represent.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah. And unlike most, you could actually look their mothers and fathers in the eye and say, this was worth it, depending on what conflicts come our way. All right, let's go through the allegations, including the first one that got this whole campaign against you started, and that was this anonymous accuser. And by the way, just so the audience knows, I too have looked through all of the accusations, all of the reports against you. There is not one name, not one person accusing you of any sort of misconduct has gone on the record with their accusation. It is all anonymous from NBC, cbs, the New Yorker, the usual suspects. And yet you are having person after person go on the record in your defense about your character from, you know, Will Kane and Dan Bongino at Fox, Joey Jones at Fox, the entire Fox friend's crew this morning standing up and defending you.

[Pete Hegseth]

Dozens of people from my vets organization, Medal of Honor winners everywhere.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yes. So that just so the audience knows, but we do need to go through what people are saying so you have the chance to address it. So the first is this alleged rape that took place in 2017 at a hotel out in Monterey, California, where the allegation is that you were the keynote speaker at a Republican women's conference, that you were drinking into the wee hours and that a female so called handler of yours who was meant to see you from A to B, went back to your room with you to shepherd you there, found herself inside the room that you allegedly blocked the door. She, quote, remembers saying no a lot. And the next thing she knew, things got very fuzzy. And you allegedly raped her with her husband and children in their own hotel room down the hall. The police investigated. They chose not to charge. The DA did not see probable cause to charge this case. We found out from the police report certain exonerating details which none of the media will report. Like you said, it was consensual. There was no drug and she wasn't, she wasn't drugged in any way. And she's on camera looking totally fine, according to the police, according to eyewitnesses and according to her own husband, to whose room she returned at 4am she was fine. She was not slurring, she was not stumbling. And she apologized to him for being out, saying, I fell asleep on somebody's whatever. And that's what you say she told you she was going to tell the husband. All right, that's, that's the setup. For those who haven't been paying attention, did you rape a woman in a hotel in Monterey?

[Pete Hegseth]

Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I've been honest about that encounter, starting with law enforcement. From the beginning, I was, I may have been drinking, but I was cognizant enough to remember every single detail. And I'm not here to say that my conduct was good. You know, being in a hotel room with someone that's, you know, not the person you're with is not okay. I own up to that. And I've had to own up to that. And that's been difficult. And my wife's amazing and she knew about it, but going through it again is not easy. But ultimately I went through that process with investigators eyes wide open and honest because I knew I had nothing to hide. It's a really unfortunate situation. And ultimately they dug into everything, as you said, everyone that was there, all the video camera footage, all of her testimony, husband testimony, my testimony. And they looked into it and said, no way. We're not charging on this at all. In fact, there's other things that hopefully could come out in the future that would be our team is benefiting from more information. So we always want more information coming out of this because the more information that comes out, the more people realize what this actually was. And ultimately, you know, it's never fun to have your name. All they want is your name in the headline with that allegation. That's all they want. And then once they do that, they run with. They don't care about all the details that you just pointed out.

[Megyn Kelly]

And when they summarize the case in the secondary reporting, they never include any of the exonerating details.

[Pete Hegseth]

Not at all. That's to be expected, though. That's how our media today operates. They take one thing, blow it up, and then extrapolate ad nauseam on it. But notice how that story has sort of faded away because there's nothing to hang on to there, which is why.

[Megyn Kelly]

Okay, but what about. Because you did pay her off a couple years later, she came back threatening and wanting some sort of a settlement, and you paid her. So was it a substantial settlement? And why did you pay her?

[Pete Hegseth]

I paid her because I had to, or at least I thought I did at the time. I was newly married. I was up for potential jobs in the administration, so my profile was higher. And listen, she got lawyers that reached out to mine and said, if you don't come forward and if you don't pay money, then ultimately we're going to out him. We were in the middle of a MeToo movement. I had a great job at FOX and a wonderful marriage, and I did it out of. I mean, it's not what I should have done, but I did it to protect that. I did it to protect my wife, I did it to protect my family, and I did it to protect my job. And it was a negotiation purely to try to prevent that. We paid a sum. I'm not going to disclose that amount, but it was. It was. Yeah. I mean, there's. You don't expect to go through something like that. You obviously feel like you're being used because of your public profile. There are plenty of people that have gone through that. The sad part for this is, though, that I. What it does is it cheapens the instances where there's real sexual assault. Like, it's a real thing. It's a real problem, including in the military, which is something I will address very directly. In the military hasn't been sufficiently addressed, what some women in the military go through. And so when you make allegations that are proved to be bogus, fully investigated and cleared, and then you extrapolate that, it harms other instances where it's very.

[Megyn Kelly]

Real and it undermines the credibility of other accusers. Okay, so that one we've dealt with. But then come the flurry of allegations about your personal life. And I think it's admitted, at least in your divorce proceedings, that you did cheat on your first two wives. You're on your third marriage to Jen, a former colleague of my own at Fox and yours, too. And your hookup with this woman in Monterey happened when you were with Jen. So that's three. Right. And there are a lot of women at home and men who will be like, it's a no.

[Pete Hegseth]

Right.

[Megyn Kelly]

He's too much of a serial cheater. Like, how can we put a guy in this position who's a serial cheater? So is that a fair characterization of you?

[Pete Hegseth]

I think it's would have been. It was a fair characterization of me before I truly was changed by Jen and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I mean that. I mean, people cannot believe that if they don't want to. But if you look at me and if you know me, if you have walked us, watched us walk into Colts Neck Community Church and Pilgrim Hill Reform Fellowship, the churches where we've attended, that have truly. I mean, I'll never forget a sermon that my pastor gave Pastor Chris, who's a dear friend of mine, where he talked about, most people miss Jesus by 12 inches from their head to their heart. I grew up as a Christian. My mom was on Fox and Friends, these wonderful Christian parents. I intellectually was associated with it and understood it, but never really lived it. And it was those moments in those places in my relationship with Jen, as we grew together in Christ, that I become a changed man. Am I a perfect man? No. Was I a perfect man? Absolutely not. Do I regret those things? Yes. But is it who I am today? No. And I'm just grateful for the grace of God that gives me a new chapter. And I knew stepping out in this, that that would be part of what would come at me. Was that scary part of the calculation? Sure. But what's the alternative? That people with difficult, somewhat difficult paths can never step up and try to serve the American people and serve a president who was elected? Is that the alternative? You have to be. You can't have made any mistakes in your life or reconciled for them or asked for forgiveness for them if you want to serve in another capacity. And I just. My wife and I, we prayed about it a lot and said, we know the slings and arrows are coming. We're going to lock shields. That's why we're together on the hill. We're together everywhere in this process. Because if we can't do this together, then it's not worth doing. And having that assurance in Christ and with a partner where this is ride or die for the rest of our life, no matter what, is life changing. And I've never had that perspective before. And I did that foolishly as someone who came home from wars and was untethered from, you know, accountability and all over the place, all over the map until, you know, we just got a couple of horses. I don't know anything about horses, but it's a beautiful exercise. But what you realize is you've got it. When you handle them, you handle them properly, you've got to prove that you're kind of the alpha. They got to want to follow you. And one of our horses is a little stubborn, and we got a trainer that comes over and sometimes they got a yank on the. On the. On the harness. And I feel like sometimes God had to yank on me a little harder. To say, pete, pay attention here. This is your purpose.

[Megyn Kelly]

Especially guys coming back from war look for the answer in a bottle and eventually find out the hard way it's not in there. And maybe it's in the Bible instead of the bottle.

[Pete Hegseth]

I think I'm going to use that. It actually is. Like, I've read the Bible before. This is the first year this year where I've read it through cover to cover, in addition to devotions, in addition to daily prayer time. And you realize how foolish, how foolish we are as individual human beings, untethered from eternal truth, untethered from the wisdom of the Bible, from the wisdom of the patriarchs to the judges, to the prophets to the disciples, to Jesus Christ, to everything that happened. When we don't know and contemplate and start our day on those things, we start them focused on ourself or our needs or our wants or our prides, all of which are destructive. I mean, I talk to my kids all the time about this. You know, there's sin equals slavery. The truth, the Bible equals freedom. And I've created plenty of problems for myself. But I know here sitting, I'm a liberated man by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the partner that I'm with. And people can take that or leave that and believe that or not, I know that in my core, I know how we started our day this morning was in prayer and it's not going to stop. And we hope we get a chance to serve the country in the process.

[Megyn Kelly]

So what do you say to people who say, well, you are nominated to be Secretary of Defense and in this position you'd run a military where they court martial people for infidelity. So how do you look at those guys and say, I will judge you, I will pursue these charges against you.

[Pete Hegseth]

You follow the law as it's applied? I mean, I don't know exactly what instances they would point to and when and what that process would be in the National Guard. And I'm sure that will be litigated. But my point is my job is to follow the law. The UCMJ and I would do that.

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[Megyn Kelly]

What do you make of the drinking? Because this is another big thing and this could potentially come back to haunt you with these senators even once, who like you, right? Because nobody wants if, even if you're not an alcoholic, which I believe, you can't have somebody who's inebriated to the point where they need to be carried in from their hotel room, as alleged anonymously in these New York reports. Anonymously running the Pentagon. Like you know that. So to the people who have read these reports talking about public inebriation and needing repeatedly to be carried into your hotel room at night, and even now there's an NBC report, Anonymous, which oddly includes a Pentagon correspondent, which is very interesting to me. Why would a Pentagon like it does make me wonder whether some of their sources are really there.

[Pete Hegseth]

Well, maybe there's some people in the Pentagon that don't want me to do the Secretary of Defense.

[Megyn Kelly]

In any event, that's a report that claims that some of our Fox News colleagues, former and current, are saying you showed up at Fox and went on the air intoxicated.

[Unknown Announcer]

So how do you respond to Those.

[Pete Hegseth]

Reports, check the tape. First of all, I want to start where we began too. I'm gonna start where I wanna start. My comment where we began this conversation. All of those allegations are anonymous. All of them are unsubstantiated. No one's putting their name on it. No one can point to an actual incidence, an actual place, an actual piece of evidence. None of it. I was at my brother's house last night where I was talking about where did this allegation come of me being in a strip club. That's. That's one of the things that's been.

[Megyn Kelly]

In Louisiana, that you're in a strip club. Not just in the strip club, strip club. Storming the stage.

[Pete Hegseth]

On the stage at a strip club. And I was just sitting there talking. End of the day, where did this come from? And my brother and sister in law actually both worked with me at Conservative for America before she was my sister in law. They met and they said, pete, don't you know what happened there? I said, no. He goes, there was an incident at a strip club. Something happened that was addressed. You were nowhere near there. You weren't even at the event. You weren't even in the state. Yet someone has made us. There's so much information coming at us so fast that it's hard to digest it. You're being accused of something you weren't even at. So if they're making up an instance of something where I didn't even attend, how can you believe a single other thing that any of these people are saying in any instance to include being carried up to my room with a bunch of vets who are working hard, have come back from combat deployments. Would they have beers? Sure. I'm not going to dissuade you of that. The idea that it was constantly being carried up anywhere is patently false. Which is why all of these people have come out in writing with their names on the record. I'm not just talking about people that, you know, were on the stage with me. Production crew, field staff, administrative staff, volunteers, all willing to come out and say, we've been with Pete for years and years across the country and we've seen none of these things.

[Megyn Kelly]

Well, I don't know who these anonymous accusers are. About the Fox News Times. I did see Fox and Friends. Every single member of Fox and Friends this morning go on the air and say, this is BS and as I said, Joey Jones and Dan Bongino and Will Kane and I worked with you for years at Fox News. I am the reason you became a contributor there as, you know, fact, fact, fact. And that was primetime night, you know, hits that you were doing with me. And never once, not even the hint of alcohol or anything, alcohol problem.

[Pete Hegseth]

And so what you're. What I'm trying to do is prove a negative. Right. I'm so what. What this is again, the anatomy of a smear. So they have tried to create a narrative based on, you know, what they said about Vets for Freedom and CVA and all of that. And now they're trying to extend the string. This is what they're trying to do with senators. Right. Okay. We've got to extend this string from past behavior to current behavior. And so what NBC is going to do is make up anonymous sources, none of which are close to me, none of which know me, claiming that I had a drinking problem at Fox or was drunk on air. I, I tell everybody out there, check the tape.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah, where's the drunken tape?

[Pete Hegseth]

Find the drunken. And by the way, talk to the I got a text from my senior producer of Fox and Friends weekend recently, said, Pete, I was, you were the by far, always the most reliable member of our team. For every moment I was there, you were there every morning on time, ready to go. Never missed a beat, ever. Ask the primetime hosts whose shows I do at 7, 8, 9, 10 o'clock. So most of the time when I'm in New York, I'm doing a show at 9 or 10 at night and then my own show at 6 in the morning. It's patently false and patently ridiculous. And everybody who's around me, from hosts to staff to producers to production crew, you know how many people are in those studios? You know how many people are in here right now? There's 25 people behind the cameras right now. If I had a problem, even a sniff, there was a mediate reporter that came out on Twitter today by their name, saying, I've covered fox for 15 years. That place leaks like a sieve is what they said. He said. I've never heard one iota of a thing about Pete, honestly.

[Megyn Kelly]

And when I was there, you knew, like there were certain people, There was one who, I won't repeat his name here, but he's come on my show and talked about it, who had a serious alcohol problem. And there was an intervention. Roger helped him, got him into a treatment program. It wasn't even something that, where, you know, you would necessarily be fired or, you know, shamed, you would be helped, but nothing, nothing around you. And, you know, we knew about the wife Situation. Right, sure. But nothing with respect to alcohol.

[Pete Hegseth]

It is, again, the anatomy of a smear. They're trying to extend it out because they want to create a scenario where senators go, okay, I could handle this, I could handle that. But if he's drinking, I can't handle that. All right, that's. That is by far the least true aspect of any part of this.

[Megyn Kelly]

So have you. Have you stopped drinking now, or. What's this?

[Pete Hegseth]

Thank you for asking that. So when I was. So my plan going forward ongoing, is when I deployed, we had something called General Order number one. And in General Order number one, it is. You are not allowed to drink while you're on deployment. Right. So if you're in Iraq and Afghanistan in a combat zone, you're not allowed to drink. That's how I view this role as Secretary of Defense, is that I'm not going to have a drink at all. That's not hard for me because it's not a problem for me. But I need to make sure the senators and the troops and President Trump and everybody else knows when you call me 24 7, you're getting fully dialed in, Pete, just like you always did in Iraq and Afghanistan. So this is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won't be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I'm doing it.

[Megyn Kelly]

Okay, let's talk about the financial allegations, because this is potentially problematic for some of these senators. You ran two different vets organizations, Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Vets for America. And the first one, anonymous reporting in the New Yorker. Forgive me for asking you about these anonymous reports.

[Pete Hegseth]

I know you have to, though. That's why we're here. The reason this has been allowed to percolate is because they were so ridiculous and they were all anonymous that we didn't want to give them oxygen.

[Megyn Kelly]

I get it.

[Pete Hegseth]

But now, because of where we are, we're answering questions.

[Megyn Kelly]

Okay, so the anonymous reporting by the New Yorker says that that organization wound up in enormous debt, that they couldn't pay its creditors. They said without more donations, they were going to be facing bankruptcy. This is under your leadership. CBS News reporting that in 2008 at that organization, you guys raised 8.7 million, but spent 9 million, suggesting financial mismanagement. Is that true?

[Pete Hegseth]

It's not true. Let me tell you why. I'm really proud of the work we did at Vets for Freedom. I didn't start the organization, but I came in shortly after it was started and built upon the success of the group. And we fought for the warfighters and the surge in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our job was to bring the message of what we believe to be a successful strategy in the surge and what General Petraeus was doing in Iraq and advocate for that in the American people. And that made its way up to 2008. What was happening in 2008? Barack Obama was running against John McCain. John McCain had been a big advocate of the surge and winning the war in Iraq. We had worked a lot with him on Capitol Hill. I actually know a lot of the senators on Capitol Hill from my work at Vets for Freedom and Concerned Vets for America. A good chunk of the offices I'm walking into are senators who I've met with time and time again because of my work on military and veterans advocacy. That started with Vets for Freedom. We traveled the country rallying the public. We went on Capitol Hill, we wrote op eds, I went on tv. That might have been the first time I was on TV with you.

[Megyn Kelly]

It was right around there. You.

[Pete Hegseth]

You probably gave me my first shot. Not just the contributorship, we're making the case for the war. And a big part of that was raising money so that we could run ads that would promote veterans candidates. Or we're a 501, so you can't get too political. You're a nonprofit, but you can issue, advocate. You can say, hey, John McCain is for winning the war and Barack Obama is gonna end up in disgrace, or however you wanna say that. And so we ran a lot of ads and raised a lot of money. We were very successful and proud of it. Ultimately, we were political novices. You know, I had. I guess I studied politics at Princeton. That's what I did. But I didn't have any political experience. I was. I'd been in the military. We had some advice on the outside, some of which in very slimy ways are now turning on us. But that's to be expected. And ultimately, at the very end, I'll never forget, we were about two weeks out from the election, and the politico types were saying, we're looking at the polling and McCain's gonna lose, and it's time to turn off the spigot, because he's gonna lose. And you tell that to a guy who's back from war, believes in the war, has a candidate who's fighting for that war. And that lieutenant, which I was at the time, is gonna say, go fuck yourself. I'm fighting for this war. I'm gonna raise the money to do even more. I'm doubling down when you say the fight is lost because it matters to me and it matters to the war fighters. And that's what we did. So we spent a little bit more than we had at the end, cognizant of it. We knew it. We said, hey, we're going to pour a few more ads in at a few key places for a few races because we want to double down on trying to win this thing. We're not going to abandon this guy when he's been there for us. But we knew we were over our skis. And when the election was over and McCain had lost, there was not much appetite for funding a veterans organization that was in debt because of that. And so I spent the next. It was a very humbling experience. I spent the next year and a half fundraising from donors to pay off debt and working with different vendors to try to negotiate down contracts and prices. But I spent a year and a half working every day. And you know what we did? We paid it all off and we squared it away. And ultimately we did merge with another organization, a friendly organization, consolidated and moved on. And I moved on. But in doing so, I felt a personal responsibility to make sure we were even when it was done. But there was zero impropriety. There wasn't a dollar spent that we weren't proud of spending on behalf of a cause we believed in. We were just amateurs at that moment in time.

[Megyn Kelly]

For the record, David Belavia, co founder of the organization, brought you in. He's a Medal of Honor recipient and said not one irresponsible fiscal decision was made by this group. Pete is a leader to his cor backing you. Sergeant Sean Bryan, retired US Marine Corps Total professionalism at Veterans for Freedom with Pete Hegseth. And it went on, okay, Concerned Veterans for America. Now that was a different group and this is the one. There are a lot of allegations swirling around this that appeared to have been initiated by mostly we now believe, Jessie Jane Duff, who is also a FOX News contributor. She was, she was never a FOX.

[Pete Hegseth]

News contributor, but she was on a lot.

[Megyn Kelly]

Okay, she was on a lot.

[Pete Hegseth]

Thank you.

[Megyn Kelly]

So she the reason we think it was her is because there's been reporting that she was the one who was behind this so called whistleblower report at Concerned Vets about you that it was a seven page report. It's now wound up at the New Yorker and it's what Jane Mayer of the New Yorker who smeared Kavanaugh is basing a lot of her reporting on. This is some of what's in there. The New Yorker report in large part Based on this report, January 2016, you resigned from that organization under pressure. Three sources said you were forced out due to mismanagement and an alcohol problem. The whistleblower letter, it's making these accusations, including that there was public drunkenness, there was inappropriate behavior, there was allegedly an attempted sexual assault at that strip club in Louisiana.

[Pete Hegseth]

That was not me.

[Megyn Kelly]

No, but that you didn't do anything about. Is that the allegation? And that there's a second. A second anonymous male, and forgive me, Jessie, Jane Duff, because she hasn't actually gone on the record with any of this, but there's a second anonymous male cited in this report who says he went to a bar in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with you on May 29, 2015, and saw you and another guy standing on the bar screaming in some, quote, violent way, kill all Muslims. And when asked about this by the New Yorker, this person said to Jane Mayer, I will deny that. I will deny that if you print that. And she says, well, I've got you on email. So. And he said, well, I'm going to deny that it happened. So in any event, that's what we have about your time at Concerned Vets. Would you like to address those allegations?

[Pete Hegseth]

Have any more delightful things to say? First of all, I will only say that I'm incredibly proud of what we accomplished at Concerned Veterans for America. I actually would argue that there's not a single vets group in the country that accomplished more in a smaller amount of time than we did. If you look at the reforms at the va, we talked about this a lot on your show. The Veterans Accountability act and the Choice act for vets, we were the intellectual harbor. We started that movement, built a whole report on it, drove it up on Capitol Hill, and ultimately led to its passing by working with Democrats and Republicans. And then Donald Trump took it and ran with it. Do you know how hard it is to get reforms passed in this town? It's really, really hard. Especially the ability to fire employees, cut through the SES system, and the ability to take on the VA bureaucracy and let people choose, choose their healthcare like what we did. A couple of vets and military family members with generous donors, organizing and building is truly remarkable. Again, the amount of people that are willing to go on the record that were in all of these places with their name, with their credibility tied to it is staggering. They're in the media and they're talking. Jane Mayer and others who are reporting this refused to talk to those people. All they've done is talk to disgruntled former employees. If, by the way, I'm at the point where I don't even know if they're talking to real employees. I really mean that. I mean, this stuff is so bogus.

[Megyn Kelly]

How can you know, what does it.

[Pete Hegseth]

Take to add a third or fourth or fifth anonymous source to a story? There's no accountability for them on that. So I don't believe any of it at this point. But ultimately, you know, all of those allegations, again, anonymously given, totally unsourced, fly in the face of the overarching trajectory of that organization. I want to get to the end of that as well. I was not fired. I was not pushed out. There were no allegations of impropriety. There were no allegations of excessive drinking. That was. I was. I knew all the people above us in the hierarchy of that. Ultimately, I think it was actually. I think it was actually on your show, and I mean that where I was talking about defeating isis, there was a foreign policy discussion going on. It was the end of 2015, early 2016, how we. We need to crush ISIS. Very hawkish about that. And I'll never forget I got off the air with you, and I got a phone call from some of the folks tied to the organization saying this has exacerbated the perceived differences in policy we have about foreign policy, and we need to start a discussion about whether this is going to work. They had just had a very different view of foreign policy than I did. And they didn't want the organization to move into foreign policy. They wanted it to stay focused on veterans and sort of economic issues. And I'm saying we got the black flag of ISIS flying over the place where I fought.

[Megyn Kelly]

Right.

[Pete Hegseth]

You want me to be silent?

[Megyn Kelly]

I remember that.

[Pete Hegseth]

You remember that. I mean, we had some. And so ultimately, after a couple of weeks, it was agreed upon. Let's just part ways. And that's the other letter I have. In here is the letter from the trustee of Concerned Veterans for America.

[Megyn Kelly]

Well, I have some of this. So there's Randy Lehrer.

[Pete Hegseth]

Yep.

[Megyn Kelly]

Trustee in 2016, before any of this broke, before any of this mirror campaign, he went on the record in a letter saying, Pete was a strong leader at Concern Veterans for America and was not fired because this whistleblower thing had raised its ugly head at that time.

[Pete Hegseth]

By the way, the word whistleblower gets used just for everybody watching right now. You know, I guess Alexander Vindman and others have exploded the definition of what that means. What that means is a disgruntled email to someone saying, I don't like this.

[Megyn Kelly]

Person, usually anonymous was anonymous.

[Pete Hegseth]

It was anonymous at the time, Megan, except the person who wrote it wasn't good at hiding metadata. So 15 seconds worth of research from someone who knew computers identified it as the person you just spoke about. And the reason I've known about all this for such a long time is when I left cva, there was some jealousy of my profile and what I was going to go do at fox. And so that email that you're talking about, the whistleblower report, the email was forwarded to every single executive and host at Fox News Channel. I mean, you just ask them. I remember a number of dear friends being like, I just got an email about you that's really bad. I don't believe it. But I just want you to be aware I got it. And so that letter from Randy Lehrer was a response to me saying, hey, guys, help me out here. I'm being totally impugned at Fox, where I'm grateful to have this opportunity. Can you help me out? And they don't normally do that, but they did it because it was such an overwhelming amount of garbage being thrown at me. That was then. Also, I don't know what the process was at Fox, but reviewed by Fox and they said, hey, Pete's good to go. So they identified it as anonymous and salacious and ridiculous at the time, which is precisely what it always has been. So this is Jane Mayer trying to traffic up old stuff that we knew about, my team knew about. This was all predictable. What you don't predict is the level to which they'll continue to twist and distort it and add things to it that adding more untrue things to things that are already untrue.

[Megyn Kelly]

I want to tell the audience, too, that Holly Talley, who was with Concerned Vets in Louisiana, said you're an example of honesty, integrity and character. She never saw any inappropriate behavior involving you. Karen Vaughn, gold star mom who traveled with you for three years with this group, says you're trustworthy, you're dedicated, you're brilliant. This is all disinformation. You were born for this job. Mark Lucas, executive director of Concerned Vets, gave you a glowing assessment. There are many people going on the record to say they never saw a hint of improv. They only had the most positive experiences with you. It just underscores, Pete, what a difficult position you've been placed in here. And Jesse's welcome to come on the show and repeat these allegations if she wants to.

[Pete Hegseth]

I don't think. I don't think she wants to, because I think she probably regrets a lot of that. She may not like me, but the reality is she tried to call out that my combat experience wasn't real and that I really never was in combat and then I was everybody. She had ideas of what she wanted to do in the media. I was doing my own thing in the media. I don't have any desire to tear her down. But she's back. Interestingly, she has gone on television since I was chosen and said I'd be a great secretary of Defense.

[Megyn Kelly]

It is interesting.

[Pete Hegseth]

So you could roll that tape on your own. Just Google it. She said Pete would be amazing and I love where he's at on the issues. You mentioned Holly Talley. There's also Tina Kingston, who's a. Both of them are female. Both of them work for me. Both of them are wonderful. Tina Kingston was a lieutenant colonel. I may have been a colonel. I should be forg forgiven if I don't know that. But a colonel in Louisiana. Both were in Louisiana and Ohio when those purported incidents occurred and said that never happened. Females who worked with me say that never happened. So I don't know how many more times we have to sort of point that out to discredit these. I mean, by the way, they're not members of the media. Megan, you know that Jane Mayer and all these Gabe Sherman and all these trash ardents, they're not members of the media. They're leftists with keyboards. They are agenda drivers whose whole job is to try to destroy anyone who supports Donald Trump, believes in what he's fighting for and is trying to advance it. And of course, if you're this young nominee for the secretary of defense who's going to try to do big things on behalf of the war fighter and take on an entire system, your target number one. You are target number one. And so they've peddled this. It's not reporting, it's not real, it's fake. And we're going to fight back. And for far too long, conservatives, Republicans, Trump supporters, not Trump supporters. Trump supporters have learned Donald Trump's led the way. He knows how to fight. He never. He said that to me this morning, like I said. But we have to learn to fight through, like, the chaos and the violence of the moment, of the way they tear you down, of the way they try to demoralize you, they try to get people to turn on you. And what's been really cool in this process is that every, everybody that knows me, and I mean everyone who truly knows me and has Been with me for the last 15 has put their name on the record and said I stand by this guy. That's a humble. We were talking just for a second before the show out there and you relayed what I hadn't seen Fox and Friends this morning. It's the first time I got a tear to my eye in this whole process.

[Unknown Announcer]

You welled up a little.

[Pete Hegseth]

Is that you said that Brian, Steve Ainsley and Lawrence came out. In my defense this morning as people.

[Megyn Kelly]

Who had worked with me at Fox, it wasn't Ainsley. There was a sub in for her.

[Pete Hegseth]

Oh, it was, it was also amazing from Outnumbered.

[Megyn Kelly]

I don't know her.

[Pete Hegseth]

Oh, I know her well. She was with Kaylee. It was Emily. Emily Campano. Emily. She's wonderful.

[Unknown Co-Host]

They're going out there with unnamed sources when we sit on the couch with him almost every day. I think it's just over 10 years. Yeah, for over 10 years. It just, to me that is the stunning part. Especially when you don't reach out to his co host of the show for comment to say, hey, what do you guys think about. No one has been contacted about that. I think that screams that it's a witch hunt. You can't fill in for Laura Ingraham. Sean Hannity work for eight hours every Sunday. Fill in for all of us over the course of 14 years. The way his detractors are describing him, it would be impossible to think he'd still be surviving. But stay out of the marriages. It's nothing to do with this.

[Pete Hegseth]

The fact that they do that, like they don't have to do that. But they also know me. And if there's anything people know about me as well. I work really hard to be kind and fair to people. I've been a tough business. Tough business advocating on Capitol Hill. Tough business pulling triggers as an infantryman. Tough business playing basketball at Princeton like there was no mo. I sat on the bench for four years and told I wasn't good enough to play. You know, like I'm used to being people coming at me but I also, the people that know me also know that I'm kind and loyal to people and I work really hard and all.

[Megyn Kelly]

I can think is and they have.

[Pete Hegseth]

My back and that means a lot.

[Megyn Kelly]

How are we going to get anybody to volunteer for public service now? Like you were at Fox, I'm sure you were making seven figures and you got offered this amazing opportunity to serve our country again and you said, yes sir, I'll do it. And then what happened? They tried to destroy you. They're currently trying to destroy you, not only from this role, but from any job ever again. From going back to Fox if this doesn't work out, from going on to the private sector. You know, he. What, he's an alcoholic, philandering rapist, mismanager of money. I mean, everything they can pile on you, they are piling on you. And all I can think is who the hell would say yes to working for the government after watching this kind of thing? And it's fine. The audience can make up their own mind about what's real and what's not. But. But it requires reporting of the other side. And that's why I raise the testimonials that are being given about you for me, as a friend of yours and as a member of the media. It's stomach turning. It's such a dereliction of duty. So I understand.

[Pete Hegseth]

It is an arsenal of lies. It is an arsenal of lies they mobilize to destroy. I've had senators look me in the eye, friends. Great. Said they're trying to kill you. And when I wake up, I look at my wife, we talk about it. We say, if Donald Trump can do this, if he can fight the way that he's fought with everything they've done to them, then we better learn to be able to fight ourselves. So we don't know precisely how this is all going to play out. I'm going to go up on Capitol Hill, meet with all these senators, keep working hard, try to earn votes, respect the process. The future's in God's hands, and I'm going to put my head on the pillow tonight, content of that. And I pray that he gives me the opportunity to serve my country as the Secretary of Defense. And if he did, I know I'd do a damn good job and I'd fight like hell if it doesn't happen, I'm going to be able to know I did everything I could in this process, that I told the truth, that I took on the haters and the liars and the media, and there'll be another chapter God will provide. And you know what? Ultimately, I've got seven beautiful kids who are going to have an opportunity to fight for the future of our country as well. And that's why I'm doing this. That's who I dedicated my last couple of books to. They're going to have to fight for the Republic, too.

[Megyn Kelly]

Speaking of Ainsley Earhart on Fox News, after my ending at NBC News. Ainsley is such a. She's an angel. Yeah, she is she sent me this beautiful display of orchids. And the card read, give it to God. And that's, that's where you are right now, right? Give it to God. Like it's too much of a burden to carry yourself. Give it to God. And you know what, Pete? She was 100% right. Like, my own life turned around dramatically from that moment to this. So I feel like whatever God has in store for you, whether it's this job or a different one, but I think it will be this job. I think greatness awaits. Like your newfound look, look out on life, your newfound connection to him, to your wife, like all of that goodness breeds more goodness. That's my hope for you and that's my belief too.

[Pete Hegseth]

And I want to, and I want to thank everybody out there who's praying for me, who's praying for us. Not just from our church or the people that we know, but at Fox across the country. The amount of incoming notes, emails, texts, you can feel it. But we need it. That's the shield, that's the armor of God we need. And I just want everybody out there who's doing that to know we are giving it to God. Okay.

[Megyn Kelly]

But less happy would be the confirmation hearings, how you're going to get cross examined by Democrats and potentially an FBI investigation. Do you, do you welcome an FBI investigation?

[Pete Hegseth]

Well, I can't wait for a FBI investigation. Can't wait. How soon can they start, really? Yes, because that gives me an opportunity for them to do a real investigation. So what the media is doing right now is a, is witch hunt. It's trial by false accusation and lies. The FBI is going to look through what. And if they do their job properly, which I fully expect they will, they'll talk to everybody and get the full story and a full understanding. That's a report I welcome. So, yeah, we're not, we're not hiding for that one bit.

[Megyn Kelly]

Is there a point at which you do what Matt Gaetz did, you know, too much of a distraction, realize I can't get through, the senators won't do it. Is that, is there a point like that?

[Pete Hegseth]

I mean, that's the President's call. What I know in this entire process is there's only one man in America that got 76 million votes. One man that American voted for and for his, for change in the Senate and in Washington D.C. he asked me, I shook his hand. I told him I'd fight like hell for him. If there's a moment where he calls me and says, pete, attaboy, but you're not the guy I will salute and say, whatever assignment you need from me next, I'll do it. It's his call, and he's shown great confidence in me and I respect his perspective on it, no matter which way it goes.

[Megyn Kelly]

Can we spend some time on what you would do in the job?

[Pete Hegseth]

Sure. Please. I'd love that.

[Megyn Kelly]

The women in combat thing has made some headlines. I've said already that I agree with you on it for various reasons. There have been studies showing that the troops perform more effectively when there is a separation and women can be extremely effective in supportive roles right around it. But maybe not on the front lines next to the men. Is that a position you still hold?

[Pete Hegseth]

I wrote a chapter on that in my book, which I would encourage people to read. I'm familiar with the studies that you're talking about because I've studied this issue. What I would say when I step back is that women are already in combat. Female engagement teams, fighter pilots, eod, military police, and they play an indispensable role. My real concern here is not about men or women. I, the women of the Pentagon, of our military, are revered, appreciated, and I will be a Secretary of Defense for them. Like everybody else, their biggest advocate. All I've really ever cared about is making sure the standards are maintained.

[Megyn Kelly]

Right.

[Pete Hegseth]

That men or women, when we look at duty. Moses jobs in the military, that we're properly assigning a threshold for capability that has nothing to do with gender and only to do with what is needed to do the job effectively. And that means some jobs will be open evenly to every. Flying drones is a very different capacity than carrying a rucksack with £100 in it and a 240 Bravo, that's going to have a different qualification. And if we have the right standard and women meet that standard. Roger, let's go. If they. If they. If they can't. That's. And that's a. That's a product of physical differences because the standard's high, then that's just the reality. And I think that's an easy way to look at it. Stand. But we've seen standards formally and informally be eroded in pursuit of quotas. Or we need a certain percentage or number here. You can't do that. You gotta get rid of all of that, make sure the standards are high and that they're applied properly.

[Megyn Kelly]

What do you think is the biggest problem with the military today? Like, what's something you'd like to address on day one?

[Pete Hegseth]

Oh, my goodness. It's the charge that The President gave me. The biggest problem is we are. The military has been distracted from its core mission, which is lethality. Lethality. Lethality. Close with and destroy the enemy, deter our enemies, and then have the ability to defeat them swiftly and come home. That's it. The military is in the business of deterring and fighting wars, killing bad guys. Anything else you're asking it to do is a distraction. So when you're pushing CRT and DEI and all these notions that there's systemic racism, anybody who served in these units, and I've written about this extensively and talked about it, knows that systemic racism is not a problem in our military today. In fact, the percentage of racism and extremism in our military is a fraction of what it is in the general public. Thankfully. Our military has been a huge part of racial reconciliation in our country from the very beginning. Ask any guy or gal. It's never been about skin color. It's only about green and red that you bleed together. That's it. So crt, dei, climate and green initiatives, you know, trans initiatives, all the quotas, get it out out. Standards, accountability, meritocracy, lethality. And that also means, by the way, no tolerance for things like sexual assault. No tolerance for things that make us less capable. All of that's got to stop. It's got to go. It's got to be dealt with. With. And so I think my background specifically gives me a chance to focus on the war fighter and readiness. That's what the President has charged me first and foremost to do. And I think when you when that happens, Megan, I've already seen the amount of messages I've gotten from guys and gals saying I wasn't going to join. I'm 18. But I joined because President Trump was elected and you're going to be the secretary.

[Megyn Kelly]

I'm hearing it too.

[Pete Hegseth]

And or I was going to get out as an E6, but I'm re upping because I'm ready to go. We are on the cusp of a recruiting renaissance. We will see guys and gals join this military in droves because we still have a lot of patriots in this country who want to believe in institutions that have traditionally fought for and defended this nation. It's get back to basics. And there's a lot of other things we can talk about back to basics. And when we do that, I actually think. I know you'll see the vast majority of the Pentagon respond to that as well. Do you think the folks who wear the uniform in Washington, D.C. want to be distracted by other things, or do you think they want to focus on war fighting and lethality? I know the answer to that, and that's coming.

[Megyn Kelly]

Can you spend a minute on the forever wars and the risks that we're looking at right now? We've got Syria in the midst of a civil war that's amping up where we could see Bashar Al Assad deposed. We've got the risk of China possibly taking Taiwan in the second Trump term. We've got the explosive powder keg in the Middle East. We've got Ukraine when there's a lot going on that could potentially involve our military at a time where the American public's really not feeling all that interventionist. So how do you look at those conflicts and the role of the military in 2024, 2025America?

[Pete Hegseth]

Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, I look to the Commander in Chief's direction on that. I mean, his America first agenda and how he wants to adapt and adjust the way we focus in threats. He's the boss. I'm an execution arm, and my job is to give him advice as it pertains to our military and its ability to execute on that ultimately, we live in one of the most dangerous times since the end of the Cold War. There's just no doubt about it, you've refined it. But I'm also the product of two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, where my view shifted a great deal from where it was to where it is today. Because you would have to be a fool to look at the outcomes in Iraq and Afghanistan and think that what we got out of them was beneficial to American national security interests. And that's not to take away from every vet who gave everything. I was one of them. Those last folks In Afghanistan, the 13 we lost, the people who fought for, the places that ISIS took back, like that investment, that fight, that mission is real and I love all of it. But we have to be realists and clear eyed about what that intervention meant. The finite resources that we have, the debt that we have, the threats that we have, the responsibilities our allies have to show in Europe if they want to defend that continent. The reality of the outcome in Ukraine, Donald Trump's been very clear about that, but that he wants to end it right away and that ultimately there's this huge looming threat in the Indo Pacific, in the communist Chinese who are rapidly trying to build a military that outpaces ours, building a military, trying to defeat us. So I don't want to get ahead of the president at all on any of this part of the reason you don't normally do interviews in a confirmation process is that anything you say will be used against you in the court of a, of a hearing. So these are all things I've said before and the President has said, but ultimately, yes, we live in a dangerous world, which means if you're going to have peace through strength, you need to have the perception and the reality of a hyper ready force ready to take on the next threat.

[Megyn Kelly]

There was a report today, it was yesterday, it was this morning by the Wall Street Journal and Fox News Bill Malugian just confirmed it, saying that Trump had a face to face meeting at Mar A Lago Yesterday with Ron DeSantis. I don't know that it was specifically about this, but that allegedly in that face to face meeting they did discuss the possibility of subbing him in for this position depending on how things go for you. What do you think of that possibility?

[Pete Hegseth]

Listen, it's all the President's choice. I spoke to the President this morning. He said I'm his guy and I won't, I'm not going to give any other information. From my conversations with the President, I believe that what he shares with me needs to stay in confidence. But things were addressed and he said you're my guy.

[Megyn Kelly]

Also saying that you're my guy was your mom on Fox and Friends.

[Unknown Guest]

If we all went back seven years, we would see that maybe we're not the people we are today. And I'm sure many of you across the country understand how difficult divorce is on a family. There's emotions we see say things. And I wrote that in haste. I wrote that with deep emotions. I wrote that out of love. And about two hours later I retracted it with an apology email. But nobody's seen that. I want to say something about the media and part of today is to discredit the media and how they operate when they contact you. I let a few phone calls go, but then they call you and say they threaten you. That's the first thing they do. They say unless you make a statement, we will publish it as is. And I think that's a despicable way to treat anyone. Threats are dangerous. I don't think the way you operate is. It feels almost criminal when reporters call you and threaten you. I don't think a lot of people know that that's the way they operate and they don't care who they hurt. Families, children.

[Unknown Announcer]

Poor Penelope, oh, bless her soul.

[Megyn Kelly]

Can you believe the New York Times published that email?

[Pete Hegseth]

Oh, yes, because it's the New York Times.

[Megyn Kelly]

It was so mean.

[Pete Hegseth]

So mean. By the way, if you want to.

[Megyn Kelly]

Say anything about the mean email that your mom sent you and then the meanness of the New York Times and publishing it.

[Pete Hegseth]

So first of all, multiple outlets to their little bit of credit, had received that email before, and my mom spoke to them, to those reporters, and to their little bit of credit, they didn't run it.

[Megyn Kelly]

Wow.

[Pete Hegseth]

So I don't even want to name them because they don't deserve any credit. But of course, the failing New York Times, the trash bin that it is, was willing to. Even after my mother spoke to the reporter and it was clear that she immediately took it back. Not just now immediately took it back. They published it. That's what I feel for my mom. I was going through a divorce. The issue was over child custody. I wanted more. I've got these three amazing boys who I want all the time with I can have in the world. And so if I'm guilty of wanting more time with them, that's true. And it was, you know, ask anybody who's been through that, and it can be emotional. And I, you know, the days that followed, we worked our way through it, and she walked it all back and said it was emotional and. But you expect that those communications are going to be private. It was private. You'd hope a place like that, like the New York Times, would make it about Pete Hegseth, not Penelope Hegseth, but again, it's all the anatomy of a smear. Trash, trash, trash, trash. Even his mom doesn't like him. Even his mom thinks he's horrible.

[Megyn Kelly]

Didn't CVS put a mic in your face today or yesterday saying, what would you like to say about your mom? You said, I love her.

[Pete Hegseth]

I love my mom. And, you know, it's. I mean, it's also a scenario where it's not as if, you know, it's a good news story. Right. It's about family and family repair.

[Megyn Kelly]

I would do the same thing to my son. If you're involved in a contentious divorce where I didn't like the way he was handling it, I would send a harshly worded email to try to shore his behavior up. And it does seem like over time, Pete, you did kind of hear her. I mean, that you did wind up changing.

[Pete Hegseth]

I think you're. I think I saw you, right? Yeah. You're a good. She's a good mom.

[Megyn Kelly]

She's a good mom.

[Pete Hegseth]

She is a good mom. Mom. She always has been. And she's been wonderful to me and to Jen and to our family and, but it is a, it's a great new story of redemption, of family healing. And it didn't happen over a long period of time. It happened real quick. You know, we're very close. She spends weeks at a time at our house with our, with our, with her grandkids. They're with us for a month over the summer. Her and my wife are dear friends. I love her to death. She knows it. She wouldn't. And when I called her and said, mom, will you go on Fox and Friends? I mean, it wasn't a hesitation. She was like, I would be honored to have the ability to talk about you. So I actually haven't seen the whole interview yet as of this recording, but from what I've heard from people, mom did a great job. So thank you, Mom.

[Megyn Kelly]

I appreciate it and very proud and I'm sure she's very proud of you. Thank you for sitting with me, Pete. It's great to see you.

[Pete Hegseth]

I appreciate the time.

[Megyn Kelly]

All the best of luck to you.

[Pete Hegseth]

God bless. Thank you.

[Megyn Kelly]

Thanks for listening to the Megyn Kelly show. No bs, no agenda and no fear.

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