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Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin supplied up an uncommon protection for Donald Trump’s protection secretary nominee Pete Hegseth amid claims he has a consuming downside, arguing there’s “a lot of alcohol that flows through Washington.”
This week, NBC Information reported that Hegseth’s consuming habits fearful various his former colleagues at Fox Information, who claimed that he typically smelled of alcohol earlier than occurring air. Hegseth would complain about being hungover and acted like “the rules didn’t apply to him,” in keeping with ten present and former Fox Information workers who spoke to the outlet.
Hegseth left Fox Information after President-elect Trump chosen him to guide the Division of Protection.
Mullin, in dialog with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, defended Hegseth towards these claims.
Tapper performed the Oklahoma senator two clips.
The primary confirmed Hegseth on a latest episode of The Megyn Kelly Present claiming he “never had a drinking problem,” and the second featured Hegseth on The Will Cain Present describing how he would desire a drink at 10 a.m. and “self-medicate” utilizing alcohol after getting back from serving in Iraq.
Mullin went on to say Hegseth by no means mentioned he had a consuming downside within the second clip.
“Jake, that wasn’t him saying he had an alcohol problem,” Mullin mentioned. “That was him being honest. Unfortunately, a lot of our combat vets have come back and face the same thing.”
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Pete Hegseth confronted questions on a doable consuming downside following a report that his Fox Information colleagues have been involved about his degree of alcohol consumption (Getty Pictures)
“They’ve had a lot of experience that the regular population doesn’t,” he continued. “They have these memories, these thoughts, these sounds, the smells that are still coming back to them and they turn to drinking with their buddies. That doesn’t mean that they had a drinking problem.”
Tapper responded by noting that needing an alcoholic drink at 10 a.m. is “a drinking problem.”
“Well, then there’s a lot of politicians that have a drinking problem,” Mullin shot again. “There’s probably a lot of media that has a drinking problem too.”
“There’s a lot of alcohol that flows through Washington, D.C. on a regular basis, and I wouldn’t say that people are alcoholics or they have a drinking problem because of that,” he added.
Lots of Hegseth’s former colleagues at Fox Information have additionally defended him from these claims.
Fox & Buddies Weekend host Will Cain known as the claims “100 percent bulls***” and “horses***.” Rachel Campos-Duffy, who co-hosted the morning present with Cain and Hegseth till Hegseth’s latest departure, agreed with Cain and mentioned NBC didn’t attain out to her for his or her report.
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Sen. Markwayne Mullin defended protection secretary nominee Pete Hegseth to CNN’s Jake Tapper Sunday (CNN)
“The losers at NBC News never reached out to me either. Will Cain is right – your story IS horse****. You now have 2 people who sat next to him 8+ hours a week on the record. Will you retract or correct your story?” Campos-Duffy posted on X. “Worth repeating, NBC News used ‘anonymous’ sources & unconfirmed stories to smear Pete Hegseth as a drunk on the job & never once asked his FOX & Friends coworkers who sit right next to him???”
A Trump marketing campaign spokesperson additionally mentioned that claims Hegseth has a consuming downside are unfaithful.
“These disgusting allegations are completely unfounded and false, and anyone peddling these defamatory lies to score political cheap shots is sickening,” the spokesperson instructed NBC Information. “As a decorated combat veteran, Pete has never done anything to jeopardize that, and he is treating his nomination as the most important deployment of his life.”
Hegseth can be dealing with sexual assault allegations by a lady who alleges he trapped her in a lodge room in 2017. The veteran reached a monetary settlement with the lady after authorities didn’t cost him.
Hegseth has denied all wrongdoing, claiming the encounter was consensual.
