By Deroy Murdock, The Daily Signal | December 08, 2024
President-reelect Donald J. Trump’s enemies seem overwhelmed by his growing sense of invincibility. Civil lawsuits, criminal indictments, Democrat nominees, media mudslinging, and even a crazed gunman’s bullet bounced right off him.
So, Trump’s enemies now aim their fire at his Cabinet nominees. Anonymous rumors and accusations often are the weapons of choice. The Democrat Left’s vicious sniping prompted attorney-general nominee Matt Gaetz to withdraw his name from consideration.
This only deepened the hunger of Hate Trump Inc.
Democrats and their regime-media servants salivate at the prospect of toppling my friend Pete Hegseth, the battle-hardened, decorated veteran and natural-born broadcaster whom Trump has tapped as secretary of defense.
Just days after the Left got Gaetz, their potshots began anew. Now-cliché anonymous sources aimed from the bushes and accused Hegseth of being a bumbling, spendthrift, womanizing drunk. Such charges are a breeze to deploy while hiding namelessly behind a mask.
Conversely, Trump haters hate on-the-record comments by named individuals who admire their targets. No surprise, Hegseth’s former colleagues describe someone completely different: a capable, inspiring, and eloquent leader with abundant potential.
• “I have known Pete Hegseth for 18 years,” said Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia. The man who hired Hegseth to run Vets for Freedom continued: “Pete is bold and willing to make decisions that will keep America safe, which is the primary reason he continues to be relentlessly targeted.”
Bellavia added: “There are few men born with the fire and grit of Pete Hegseth. Washington doesn’t build men like Pete. Combat builds men like Pete. He will deliver the antidote that the Department of Defense has been begging for—screaming for, in every formation, throughout all branches of our military.”
• “Over the years when the burdens of war crept up, Pete has always been the guy that I could call no matter how bad it was,” Sgt. Shawn Bryan (USMC, Retired) remembers. Hegseth’s Vets for Freedom colleague also observed: “No matter how busy he was, Pete would answer and give sound advice. That is the leadership that President Trump sees in Pete.”
• “I have always known Pete to be a man of honesty, integrity, and character,” said Holly K. Talley of Concerned Veterans of America, which Hegseth managed from 2013 to 2016. “During my time with CVA [October 2014-December 2016], I frequently traveled to Defend Freedom Tour stops, policy-maker town halls, and various other events,” Talley said. “I personally never witnessed any unprofessional or inappropriate behavior by Pete during these events.”
• “Pete brought incredible energy, focus, and a clear vision to the organization, and it showed in everything the team accomplished together,” said Casin Spero, CVA’s digital media director.
• Tina Kingston, CVA’s Louisiana state director from 2014 to 2016, said: “What The New Yorker published could not be further from the truth! I never saw Pete Hegseth flirt or do anything inappropriate with his female staffers or any other female.”
• “CVA recognizes and appreciates his accomplishments as CEO,” trustee Randy Lair wrote in a January 2016 letter upon Hegseth’s departure. “Pete has provided strong leadership during the growth of CVA as an influential organization on many fronts.”
Meanwhile, NBC “News” soiled itself Tuesday with a third-rate hit piece in which 10 of Hegseth’s TV “associates” claimed that he reeked of alcohol and, consequently, required babysitting while on air. Typically, these “sources” were anonymous.
I refuted this rubbish in Thursday’s American Spectator. I named and cited 15 of Hegseth’s Fox News Channel colleagues who report zero such behavior. Most significant: the testimony of Hegseth’s regular “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-hosts.
• “Your story is horseshit @NBCNews,” Will Cain declared via X, the social media platform X. “Signed, The guy who sat next to him for 8 hours every week for five years starting at 6 am.”
Cain added: “Bullshit. 100 percent bullshit. Actually … horseshit.”
• “@willcain is right – your story IS horseshit,” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy wrote. “You now have 2 people who sat next to him 8+ hours a week on the record. Will you retract or correct your story?”
Hegseth has interviewed me on air for Fox News many times. He consistently was sharp, professional, and sober.
Hegseth also was supportive and helpful to my family as we tried to navigate the labyrinthine VA health bureaucracy during my late Uncle Howard’s battle with cancer. As we concluded a conference call about the dying Air Force veteran, Hegseth told me and my kin: “God bless Uncle Howard.”
Since we met around 2007, Hegseth has been reliably smart, congenial, and well-prepared for the next challenge, no matter how formidable.
For years, Hegseth has earned the confidence of employees, peers, and supervisors alike.
All we are saying is: Give Pete a chance.
Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor and a contributing editor with The American Spectator.
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