Pete Hegseth says Fox News colleagues who criticize him are ‘jealous’

Pete Hegseth, who was chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon, responded to his criticism Fox News Colleagues said Wednesday they were jealous of him.

I’ll keep talking The Megyn Kelly Show The veteran presenter laughed about the numerous allegations against him since his nomination when Kelly asked him about his alleged alcohol problem.

“They never ask the people closest to me, they never ask the people who are directly involved,” he said of media reports about him. “They never ask the people closest to me.

“All the people at Fox and Friends came out and said, ‘That’s not Pete and we’ve worked with Pete for 10 years, every morning, every day’.”

He said the comments used against him were “a few anonymous bits and pieces” from those who were fired “who are jealous or want a little bit of retribution.”

Hegseth, who has also been accused of mismanagement and sexual misconduct, was nominated by Trump to be the next defense secretary. He has denied all allegations made against him, including a police report indicating that a woman accused him of sexual assault in 2017.

However, the Fox host’s record is under increasing scrutiny as it was recently reported that he was repeatedly drunk during his tenure as CEO of the Koch-backed group Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) between 2013 and 2016.

On Monday, he told reporters that he would not dignify questions about his drinking with an answer. That attitude appeared to have changed by Wednesday, when he told Kelly he had never been told to seek help for drinking.

“What do boys often do when they come back from war? Have a few beers,” he said. “How do you deal with the demons you see on the battlefield? Sometimes it’s with a bottle.”

Hegseth said this sometimes leads to depression and in some cases even suicide among veterans. For him, he said, his wife Jennifer and Jesus Christ saved him from this.

“I am a completely different person than I was 10 years ago and 15 years ago,” he added, saying he was the right man for the Pentagon because he had a life in the military.

Hegseth also spoke about the reports on the other allegations against him and said that he still has the support of the president-elect and the US senators who are responsible for confirming or denying the appointment.

That support also came publicly from MAGA personalities and Hegseth’s colleagues at Fox News.

“Pete Hegseth is an excellent choice for Secretary of Defense. I am confident he will strengthen our military and be an excellent addition to the Trump administration,” Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Fox employee Guy Benson also posted on the social media platform and expressed his support.

“I co-hosted with Pete and have never experienced anything like what was alleged in this anonymous report,” he said.

Others, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, have spoken out against Hegseth’s nomination. He called the allegations against Hegseth “disturbing.”