On Tuesday, NBC News released a report that former Fox News host Pete Hegseth drank alcohol in ways that “concerned his co-workers.” Those co-workers responded in droves backing the Defense Secretary nominee.
The NBC News report claimed that 10 current and former Fox News employees spoke on the record about the allegations. Two of those reached say on more than a dozen occasions they could smell alcohol on the breath of Pete Hegseth before he went on the air. The report came on the heels of additional dispatches from The New Yorker that claimed drinking by Hegseth was an issue at two previous jobs he held before joining Fox News in 2017.
Others said they felt the need to “babysit” Hegseth during his time at Fox News. No one, however, could remember a time Pete Hegseth missed a scheduled appearance on the network due to his drinking.
After the report came to light, several former and current Fox News hosts took to social media to share their support for Hegseth, openly questioning the reporting from NBC News.
FOX & Friends Weekend host Will Cain — who worked alongside Hegseth on the weekend morning show — strongly pushed back on the allegations, sharing that he was never contacted by NBC News to share his insights.
“Your story is (expletive) NBC News,” Cain wrote. “Put my name on it. On the record. It’ll be your only on the record source. Signed, the guy who sat next to him for 8 hours every week for five years starting at 6 AM.”
“I was not contacted by anyone at NBC News,” Cain continued. “And no one had closer proximity on a continuous basis. Well…maybe Rachel Campos-Duffy since she sat between us!”
“The losers at NBC News never reached out to me either,” Campos-Duffy said. “Will Cain is right – your story IS (expletive). You now have 2 people who sat next to him 8+ hours a week on the record. Will you retract or correct your story?”
She continued by adding that NBC News “used anonymous sources” and “unconfirmed stories to smear Pete Hegseth as a drunk on the djob and never once asked his FOX & Friends coworkers who sit right next to him?”
“I’ve co-hosted with Pete and have never experienced anything like what was claimed in this anonymously sourced report,” said Fox News host Guy Benson.
“Worked with Pete for years,” added former Fox News host Dan Bongino. “This is absolute (expletive).”
“I don’t drink. I’m disgusted by the smell of alcohol on someone’s breath,” wrote Fox News contributor Johnny Joey Jones. “I’ve never EVER seen Pete drink like that, and have never smelled alcohol on his breath at work. These hit pieces are getting laughable.
“Pete has always been the epitome of a class act and a great guy. These attacks are shameful BS,” added OutKick host Tomi Lahren.
On Wednesday morning, amid reports that Hegseth may no longer have the support of enough Senate Republicans for confirmation, the former Fox News host revealed he had been informed by President-elect Donald Trump to “keep going, keep fighting” as if he will be confirmed.
