Resurfaced footage shows Donald Trump’s new defense secretary boasting about not washing his hands.
The president-elect had already attracted attention by naming a television personality to the position, Pete Hegseth of Fox News, as he will soon have the greatest power over the US military behind Trump himself.
A wave of scrutiny ensued, leading to some viral clips of the 44-year-old television personality coming to light.
The 2019 bit about germs is among them, showing the Minnesota-born Army National Guard officer apparently telling colleagues that he “hasn’t washed his hands (in) 10 years.”
A mix of laughter and what seems like disgust ensues, although Hegseth later clarified that he made the comment in jest.
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Resurfaced footage shows Donald Trump’s new defense secretary bragging about not washing his hands
The president-elect had already attracted attention by naming a television personality to the position, Pete Hegseth of Fox News, as he will soon have the greatest power over the US military behind Trump himself.
“Like I told you, my resolution for 2019 is to say things on the air that I say off the air,” Hegseth begins, flanked by co-hosts Jedediah Bila and Ed Henry for the February 10, 2019 edition of “Fox & Friends.” . Sunday.’
“I don’t think I’ve washed my hands in 10 years,” he adds, before receiving a strange mix of laughter and groans from his co-workers.
Bila, sitting next to him, can be heard saying, “Someone help me,” which eventually sparked a storm on social media.
As Bila and Henry reacted in real time, Hegseth seemed to double down, speaking over the couple’s taunts and giggles.
‘That? “I never really wash my hands,” he tells them both.
“I would get vaccinated myself. Germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them; therefore, they are not real.’
His speech seemed unserious, but an avalanche of criticism on social media, as well as vigorous fact-checking, soon followed.
A Snopes publication would later state, “The context of Hegseth’s comment and his co-hosts’ reactions indicate that he was joking.”
Thus there was a wave of scrutiny that led to the forgotten ones coming to light again. Additionally, the 2019 bit about germs is among them, showing the former Army National Guard officer apparently telling colleagues that he “hasn’t washed his hands (in) 10 years.”
But his humor went unnoticed by many who saw him. One comment read: ‘Ewwww Pete Hegseth, stay away from me.’ Another wrote: “Is there any ten year old available to enlighten Hegseth on this topic?”
The reactions were enough to finally provoke a response from Hegseth, who days later took to what was then Twitter to He claimed he had been joking.
In a series of since-deleted posts, he described the posts that reported the comments as “self-righteous and angry.”
The explanation has since been removed, perhaps leading to the current confusion surrounding the topic.
Meanwhile, other unflattering clips and photos from the president-elect’s surprise election continue to emerge, including one showing him accidentally hitting a West Point drummer with an ax while filming a live television segment.
A mixture of laughter and what appears to be disgust ensues, although the latter was later refuted.
Meanwhile, other clips and photos from the president-elect’s surprise election continue to emerge, including this one of his tattoos.
Another shows him accidentally hitting a West Point drummer with an ax during a live television segment in 2015. The drummer reportedly suffered “minor injuries.”
The drummer went on to say that he only suffered “minor injuries,” leaving the man who was once considered a possible candidate to head the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue his rise to where he is today.
two decades before After graduating from Princeton University in 2003, Hegseth had just enrolled and been commissioned as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, then served overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He was also stationed at Guantanamo Bay, and was later named head of Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch.
He also ran unsuccessfully for Senate in Minnesota in 2012, before joining Fox as a contributor in 2014.
He married television producer Jennifer Cunningham Rauchet in 2019, shortly after meeting Trump for the first time thanks to her media status during the then-president’s first term.
The two quickly developed a friendship, thanks in part to Trump’s regular appearances on Fox News.
A photo from his social media platforms shows that he is seen wearing military equipment. Hegseth served overseas in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
Hegseth is married to television producer Jennifer Cunningham Rauchet and the couple married in 2019.
Hegseth and Rauchet are seen promoting their book alongside Trump at the president-elect’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Hegseth sporting a tuxedo lined with an American flag and featuring a muted flag belt buckle.
Hegseth is pictured with her four children, from two different marriages, as well as Rauchet’s three children from her first marriage.
When Trump formed his first Cabinet after his victory in 2016, Hegseth was seen as leading the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Two years later, Trump again considered the then 38-year-old for the position, before the ouster of incumbent David Shulkin in 2018.
In 2019, Hegseth urged Trump to pardon US service members who had been accused of war crimes by interviewing their relatives on Fox News, and also posted on social media to advocate for them.
The effort was ultimately successful, as that year Trump pardoned a U.S. Army commando accused of killing a suspected Afghan bomb maker, as well as a former Army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to shoot three Afghans, two of which were delicate.