DOD pick Hegseth says he still has Trump's support in face of "smear" campaign
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Pete Hegseth on Capitol Hill on Dec. 2. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth remained defiant during an interview with Megyn Kelly Wednesday, stressing that he still has the president's full backing.
Why it matters: Since he was tapped to lead the Pentagon, Hegseth has faced allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement and excessive drinking. Trump is reportedly considering backup options in case Hegseth cannot get Senate confirmation.
- Hegseth has repeatedly denied all of the accusations and team Trump has supported him.
Driving the news: "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," Hegseth said on SiriusXM's "The Megyn Kelly Show" Wednesday.
- But given that "the media's driving with this ridiculous narrative ... it's our time to stand up and tell the truth," he added.
The big picture: Hegseth, also a former Fox News host and U.S. Army veteran, told Kelly that he'd spoken to Trump earlier in the day and that the president-elect had expressed his full support and told him "you're the man for this moment."
- Asked by Kelly if he felt he was "being Kavanaugh-ed" — in reference to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh contentious confirmation hearing — Hegseth said a lawmaker had expressed a similar sentiment to him.
- "I had a member ... say, 'That's what they're trying to do to you ... All anonymous, all innuendo, all rumor, nothing sourced, no verification ... because you're a threat to them.'"
What they're saying: Hegseth told Kelly that what he was facing "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'm definitely not," he added.
Zoom out: The New York Times reported last week that in a 2018 email to her son, Hegseth's mother, Penelope Hegseth, wrote that he had been an "abuser of women" for years and encouraged him to "take an honest look at yourself."
- But Penelope Hegseth pushed back on those allegations during an appearance on "Fox and Friends" Wednesday. "I don't believe any of that is true," she told host Steve Doocy.
- "He does not misuse women ... He has been through some difficult things. I'm not going to list them by name, some of those attachments or descriptions are just not true, especially anymore," she added.
Penelope Hegseth said she regretted the 2018 email she wrote her son and had apologized hours later.
- "Pete is a new person. He is redeemed, forgiven, changed. I think we all are after seven years," she said.
State of play: Hegseth reposted a clip of his mother's TV appearance on X with the caption "love you mom."
- He also told reporters earlier Wednesday that he'd spoken to Trump that morning and the president-elect had encouraged him to "keep fighting."
- Meanwhile, with a difficult path to Senate confirmation, Trump is reportedly considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as an alternate Defense Secretary pick.
Go deeper: Hegseth police report detailing alleged sexual assault released
