Penelope Hegseth, the mother of President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon Pete Hegseth, appeared on Fox News Wednesday morning to vouch for her son, who has been accused of excessive drinking, mistreatment of women and other misconduct.
Hegseth, a former “Fox & Friends” co-host, has found his nomination on shaky ground this week following reporting by the New York Times and other outlets laying out a history of abusive and inappropriate behavior toward women.
A Times story this week cited an email from Hegseth’s mother, written in 2018, telling her son: “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself.”
“He’s not that man he was seven years ago and I’m not that mother,” she said when asked about the email during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday morning. “They were going through a very difficult divorce … There’s emotions, I wrote that in haste with deep emotions, as a parent.”
Penelope Hegseth said two hours later she “retracted it, with an apology, but nobody’s seen that.”
Hegseth’s mother made a direct appeal on Fox “to our female senators,” asking them to “not listen to the media,” and instead “listen to Pete.”
The slew of controversies has landed Hegseth’s pending nomination in serious doubt.
Several GOP senators have signaled this week that Hegseth could have difficulty getting confirmed in light of the allegations against him, which he and his attorneys have denied.
His mother would not commit to testifying on her son’s behalf during Senate confirmation hearings.
Hegseth on Wednesday morning posted on social platform X, vowing not to back down.
“I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers,” he wrote. “The Left is afraid of disrupters and change agents … so they smear w/ fake, anonymous sources & BS stories. They don’t want truth. Our warriors never back down, & neither will I.”
Penelope Hegseth’s appearance on Fox also follows reporting from The Wall Street Journal that Trump is considering replacing him with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
NBC News also reported Tuesday that several current and former Fox News colleagues of Hegseth are concerned about his nomination and described similar behavior laid out in other reports.
“People need to listen to him, get to know him, not the Pete from seven years ago,” Penelope Hegseth said Wednesday. “But the Pete of today.”
