Trump May Have Just Rung His Defense Pick’s Death Knell
Donald Trump is reportedly railing against Pete Hegseth behind closed doors. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman appeared on CNN Wednesday to discuss Hegseth’s standing within the Trump administration. “Trump has been complaining privately to people that he feels like Hegseth should have been more upfront with him, that he gave him opportunities,” Haberman told the network. “We also know … some of these things didn’t come up in a vet that the Trump folks said that they did of Hegseth.… It’s hard to see why senators who are already skeptical would be like, oh, OK, now I’m going to go along with this.”Hegseth has been hit with allegations of rape, sexual harassment, alcoholism, and workplace misconduct, all since 2017. The Christian nationalist and former Fox & Friends Weekend host has been trying to rally support for himself, even sending his own mother out to make personal pleas to female senators on his behalf. But things aren’t looking great, and Trump knows it. The CNN segment also included a clip of Hegseth’s appearance on the Megyn Kelly Show, where compared himself to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearing was roiled by accusations of sexual assault. Hegseth said that Trump stood by his nominee then and Trump could stand by him too. But Haberman noted some key differences. “Trump really put a lot of skin in the game on [Kavanaugh]. That is a big difference here,” she said. “Trump, as far as I know, is not making a ton of calls on Pete Hegseth’s behalf. He’s telling Pete Hegseth, ‘Go fight.’”
Donald Trump is reportedly railing against Pete Hegseth behind closed doors.
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman appeared on CNN Wednesday to discuss Hegseth’s standing within the Trump administration.
“Trump has been complaining privately to people that he feels like Hegseth should have been more upfront with him, that he gave him opportunities,” Haberman told the network. “We also know … some of these things didn’t come up in a vet that the Trump folks said that they did of Hegseth.… It’s hard to see why senators who are already skeptical would be like, oh, OK, now I’m going to go along with this.”
Hegseth has been hit with allegations of rape, sexual harassment, alcoholism, and workplace misconduct, all since 2017. The Christian nationalist and former Fox & Friends Weekend host has been trying to rally support for himself, even sending his own mother out to make personal pleas to female senators on his behalf. But things aren’t looking great, and Trump knows it.
The CNN segment also included a clip of Hegseth’s appearance on the Megyn Kelly Show, where compared himself to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearing was roiled by accusations of sexual assault. Hegseth said that Trump stood by his nominee then and Trump could stand by him too. But Haberman noted some key differences.
“Trump really put a lot of skin in the game on [Kavanaugh]. That is a big difference here,” she said. “Trump, as far as I know, is not making a ton of calls on Pete Hegseth’s behalf. He’s telling Pete Hegseth, ‘Go fight.’”
