On Wednesday, Pete Hegseth’s mother Penelope stepped out from private life into the spotlight for a sit-down on Fox & Friends to lay waste to the “almost criminal” liberal media and specifically “discredit” The New York Times for leaking a 2018 e‑mail she had written to her son amid his second divorce but quickly regretted.
Speaking to co-host Steve Doocy, Mrs. Hegseth started by stating she’d “do anything for my son” and implored “the senators on the Hill especially our female senators” to listen to “the truth” and “not listen to the media.”
Hegseth said, on the e‑mail itself, she said the Pete she was dealing with seven years ago was a far different man than the one he is now.
“[I]f all went back seven years we would — we would see that maybe we were not the people we are today but they were going through, Pete and his wife at the time were going through a very difficult divorce. It was a very emotional time and I’m sure many of you across the country understand how difficult divorce is on a family. There’s emotions. We say things and I wrote that in haste. I wrote that with deep emotions. I wrote that as a parent,” she said before noting she retracted it hours later.
She then called out the liberal media smear campaign as “dangerous,” “threaten[ing]” and “hard on families”:
[P]art of today is to discredit the media and how they operate. When they contact you I let a few phone calls go but then they call you and say they threaten you. That’s the first thing they do. They say unless you make a statement we will publish it as is and I think that’s a despicable way to — to treat anyone. Threats are — are dangerous and they’re — they — they’re hard on families.
Doocy asked her to address head on the media reports alleging his past was filled with financial and sexual ruin. He also wondered how his family has been grappling with these headlines (click “expand”):
DOOCY: Right. There are — and you wanted to come on to talk a little bit and you mentioned a moment ago the media scrutiny. You know, there are allegations of sexual assault, excessive alcohol use, infidelity, financial mismanagement. As a parent that’s really hard though. It’s hard to hear.
HEGSETH: Right. Well, our job as parents are to correct. They are to speak truth and I am a passionate person like Pete and — and sometimes emotional words come out. I don’t believe any of that is true, any of it. And I’m here — I wouldn’t be sitting on this — in this chair today if I didn’t believe that about my son.
DOOCY: Right. How’s the family holding up?
HEGSETH: Oh we — we’re okay. We have a deep, deep faith. Not only in each other but in God and our friends have been amazing. The support we’ve been receiving has been amazing. So we’re trusting in — in our God and in our faith and in our family.
DOOCY: What do you say to people who have read the stuff about Pete or heard the stuff about Pete? You’re here, you said he has changed.
HEGSETH: Oh absolutely.
DOOCY: How — how do you convince people of that?
HEGSETH: Okay. Well, I start with four things. First, I have very intelligent son. I have a leader son. I’ve known that since he was two. He went to Princeton and Harvard. By the way, he returned the Harvard diploma. But I wouldn’t let him return the Princeton because I work too hard for that one. That one’s going to stay, that’s on his wall. He’s written two New York Times bestsellers. Who’s — who what mother can say that? And one of them is about war and defense. So he already has a playbook, so you talk about experience. He’s also put his life on the line twice overseas for our country. One in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I’m a very proud Blue Star mom. There it is right there. And he’s still a warrior and that’s why he’s still fighting. That’s why we’re all still fighting because we believe in the good.
Hegseth then returned to the media chicanery, saying “the way they threaten you I think is — is very hurtful and the person who leaked it — I don’t know who that is and I don’t think I will need to, but Pete is a new person. He’s redeemed, forgiven, changed.”
Doocy pressed again for her to elaborate on how she believes her son has changed since 2018 (click “expand”):
DOOCY: I heard you said say just a moment ago, Pene, was — he’s a changed man.
HEGSETH: He is.
DOOCY: So the man you wrote to in 2018 who you were really mad at.
HEGSETH: As a mom.
DOOCY: He is different than that man.
HEGSETH: Absolutely. I believe that with all my heart. And I wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t believe he’s the man for the job.
DOOCY: What do you — as you look at what is going on in Washington D.C.
HEGSETH: Correct.
DOOCY: This — this is the way it works. You know, there — there are people who want Pete to get the job. There are people who don’t want Pete to get the job. As a mother that’s got to be tough. They don’t like my son. Then you add on these allegations and it’s like okay it becomes a little more complicated.
HEGSETH: You know, Pete and I —
DOOCY: It becomes much more.
HEGSETH: — right. Pete and I are both warriors and we’ve — we’ve developed a really tough skin over the years. First raising Pete and then — and then going through war, saying goodbye to our son to war. What mom needs to do that? And then his accomplishments and his qualities as a leader. He is strong. He is capable and I think his experience, I think the people that Trump has picked are not the ones you would expect. And I love that.
He also asked her whether she regrets writing the email, which she replied who doesn’t have “regrets as a parent” and “[i]t’s not an easy job and we’ve all made mistakes.”
After she said it’s been “hard” to see all the attention on the Hegseth family, she did largely duck questions about whether she’s worried the firestorm will keep Trump from “hit[ting] the ground running” next month, whether she’d testify before Congress if asked, and if she’s done any investigating as to how the e‑mail to her son was leaked to The Times.
She did, however, take the chance to thank Pete’s Fox colleagues:
I want to thank Fox News for all of you at Fox from makeup to — to cameramen to producers to the other hosts and how you’ve grown him as a leader because I think everybody should do a year on Fox. You learn to be a communicator. You learn to be take charge.
“[H]e doesn’t misuse women. No. I mean, he — you know, he’s been through some difficult things. I’m not going to list them by name but I would just say that some of those — some of those attachments or descriptions are just not true, especially anymore,” she added, saying she had come “to take on The New York Times” by being “a strong mother, a fighter.”
Asked what her message is to The Times, Hegseth was blunt:
I would say I don’t think the way you operate is, it feels almost criminal when reporters call you and threaten you. I don’t think a lot of people know that’s the way they operate. And they — they are in it for the commission, for the money. And they don’t care who they hurt, families, children. And I just — I don’t believe that that is the right way to do things.
To see the relevant FNC transcript from December 4, click here.