Mom Of Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth Appears On Fox News To Defend Son After Her Email Accusating Him Of Mistreating Women Goes Public

The mom of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, went on Fox News to defend her son following the revelations of a 2018 email in which she accused him of mistreating women went public.

In the email sent during Hegseth’s contentious divorce from his second wife, Samantha Hegseth, his mom, Penelope Hegeth, expressed deep frustration with her son’s behavior.

“On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” she wrote. “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man.”

On Fox & Friends, Penelope said, “I wrote that in haste. I wrote that with deep emotions. I wrote that as a parent. [He] was going through a very difficult divorce. I wrote that out of love. And about two hours later, I retracted it with an apology, but nobody’s seen that.”

Penelope told the New York Times she regretted her words and had apologized to her son shortly after sending it. “It is not true. It has never been true,” she said. “I know my son. He is a good father, husband.”

She criticized the publication of the email, calling it “disgusting.” She added that the email was sent in anger during a turbulent time in Hegseth’s personal life.

The email sheds light on a series of allegations that have followed Hegseth, including accusations of infidelity during his marriages and a 2017 rape complaint. The complaint stemmed from an incident at a political conference in California, where Hegseth was accused of assaulting a woman with whom he claimed to have had a consensual encounter. While no charges were filed, Hegseth later paid the woman a settlement, which his lawyer said was to protect his position as a Fox News anchor.

Samantha, the mother of three of his children, filed for divorce after Hegseth fathered a child with Jennifer Rauchet, a Fox News executive producer, while still married. The divorce proceedings included allegations of emotional abuse and resulted in the appointment of a parenting consultant to mediate disputes. Documents from the case reveal that Hegseth sent hostile messages to Samantha, prompting a court-appointed consultant to demand a plan to cease “hostile and degrading communication.”

The revelations surrounding Hegseth’s past behavior have sparked concerns about his suitability to lead the Pentagon. As Secretary of Defense, Hegseth would be tasked with upholding discipline among service members, who are held to strict standards under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including for offenses like infidelity and sexual misconduct.

While some Republican senators have dismissed the allegations, others, like Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), have emphasized the need for thorough vetting. “Any time there are allegations, you want to make sure they are properly vetted,” Ernst told Politico.

Despite these controversies, Hegseth has presented himself as a staunch conservative and proponent of family values. He has credited his parents with shaping his beliefs, saying in 2012, “I didn’t learn conservatism out of a book.”

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