Speaking to NBC’s Kristen Welker in an interview that was released early, ahead of Sunday’s Meet the Press, President-elect Donald Trump defended his Secretary of Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth, from attacks regarding his alleged former alcohol problem, shutting down Welker’s attempts to drive a wedge between them.
President-elect Trump’s stalwart defense of Hegseth isn’t surprising, particularly given that Hegseth has been winning over legislators and Trump made his support for him clear in a post on Truth Social, saying, “Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe.”
Continuing and further defending Hegseth’s ability to do the job well in that post, Trump said, “He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
In any case, during the interview, Trump made much the same point as in the Truth Social post in defense of Hegseth’s credentials and ability to do the job, saying, “He’s a young guy with a tremendous track record actually went to Princeton and went to Harvard. He was a good student at both, but he loves the military.”
Continuing, President-Elect Trump added that he thinks others, likely meaning the 50 senators that will need to be won over, see the good aspects of Hegseth and will be willing to confirm him. He said, on that point, “And I think people are starting to see it. So, we’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others.”
Welker used that to ask about the nomination, pressing the president-elect on if he has confidence in the nominee. She asked, “Since you bring him up, do you still have confidence in Pete Hegseth?” Trump didn’t equivocate in his reply, instead coming out firmly in defense of Hegseth’s military background and ability to do the job.
Making those points in his reply to her question, President-elect Trump told Welker, “Yes, I do, I really do. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him through Fox, but I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s basically a military guy. I mean, every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military. He’s a military guy.”
Welker wasn’t done. Bringing up the smears of Hegseth that claim he has a serious drinking problem, she asked, “You don’t drink yourself. You’ve talked about how devastating drinking can be. How concerned are you that the person who you picked for this top job at the Defense Department, at least according to those who’ve worked with him, has struggled with drinking?”
As background, Trump’s brother had a drinking problem and died, and so the president-elect doesn’t drink at all, knowing how dangerous and devastating alcoholism can be. In any case, Trump slammed the question and hammered it as untrue, flatly telling Welker, “But I’ve spoken to people that know him very well, and they say he does not have a drinking problem.”
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