President-elect Donald Trump has decided not to leave behind his Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth and reiterated his “strong and deep” support for the former Fox News presenter.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe. 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 response, Hegseth wrote, “Thank you Mr. President. Like you, we will never back down.”
Hegeth had spent the week meeting senators and trying to gain some support amid the flurry of backlash he has been facing for the sexual assault, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement accusations.
Although Trump is backing Hegseth publicly, he has been looking for more options for the role of Defence secretary, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been on his radar. But Hegseth seems confident about Trump’s reliability on him and said, “As long as Donald Trump wants me in this fight, I’m going to be standing right here in this fight,” on Thursday.
Hegseth is one of the many controversial picks by Trump, including Matt Gaetz who recently withdrew his name from the post of attorney general after days of debate regarding whether the congressional report about his sexual misconduct should be released.
Apart from the President-elect, he also has the Vice-President-elect backing him. He wrote on X, “Led by President Trump, we’re fighting for Pete Hegseth. And we’re doing so because Pete Hegseth will fight for our troops. For too long, the Pentagon has been led by people who lose wars. Pete Hegseth is a man who fought in those wars. We’ve got his back.”