Pete Hegseth’s mom, Penelope Hegseth, passionately defended her “warrior” son as a “changed man” during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday morning. She also ripped the “despicable” media for sharing “misinformation” about her son, after the New York Times recently published a 2018 email from her in which she criticized her son’s treatment of his second wife.
“I wrote that in haste. I wrote that with deep emotions. I wrote that as a parent. I wrote that out of love,” Penelope Hegseth said on Wednesday. “And about two hours later I retracted it with an apology email, but nobody’s seen that. It was a difficult time.”
She added: “I want people to look at Pete … for who he is today, and to disregard the media. That was seven years ago, And most of it is misinformation.”
Her appearance comes after the Times’ published a 2018 email that she sent to her son; the email came as he was divorcing his second wife, Samantha, with whom he has three children. In the email, Penelope Hegseth wrote Pete Hegseth had “abused” women and that she had “no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego.”
The email, coupled with accusations of sexual misconduct, have put Pete Hegseth’s nomination for secretary of defense in jeopardy. President-elect Donald Trump nominated Hegseth, who served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, to be his secretary of defense on November 12.
Penelope Hegseth on Wednesday started her appearance on Fox with a personal address to Trump.
“Thank you for your belief in my son,” Penelope Hegseth said. “We all believe that he’s not that man he was 7 years ago — I’m not that mother — and I hope people will hear that story today and the truth of that story.”
Since being nominated, Hegseth’s treatment of women, including cheating on his ex-wives, has come under scrutiny. And the biggest hurdle his nomination has faced is an allegation of sexual assault from a woman who claimed Hegseth drugged and sexually abused her at a conservative conference in 2017. The woman had sex with Hegseth while her husband and kids were sleeping in a nearby hotel; Megyn Kelly recently did a deep dive into her accusations, saying the accuser’s husband’s recounting of the night indicates she wasn’t drugged — which ultimately led police to not pursue charges against Hegseth.
On Tuesday, Penelope Hegseth said her son is a “new person” and has been “redeemed.” She added he’s a “changed man” and a “wonderful son” who would make a great pick for secretary of defense.
“He doesn’t misuse women,” Penelope Hegseth added.
You can watch her full 16 minute interview via Yashar Ali on X below:
