Veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan where he obtained two Bronze stars, Pete Hegseth is a star presenter on Fox News. Donald Trump will name him US Minister of Defense.
Donald Trump’s government is gradually revealing itself. After Elon Musk, the next American president announced that he intended to appoint as Minister of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former major in the American army and current presenter on Fox News, the favorite channel of conservatives in the United States.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – our armed forces will rise to greatness again and America will never back down,” the president-elect said in a statement.
If his appointment is confirmed by the Senate, Pete Hegseth, at the age of 44, will take charge of the most powerful armed forces on the planet. As a member of the US National Guard, this infantry officer was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan where he earned two prestigious Bronze star medals, according to his official website.
He joined Fox News as a consultant in 2014 and today co-hosts the popular weekend show Fox and Friends. He is also a presenter on the channel’s streaming service, Fox Nation.
“The War on Warriors”
Pete Hegseth is the author of several essays, including one entitled “The War on Warriors” which, according to Donald Trump’s press release, “reveals the left’s betrayal of our warriors and how we must return our armed forces to meritocracy, lethality, responsibility and excellence.
According to the American press, the presenter was approached during Donald Trump’s first term to obtain the Veterans Affairs portfolio, but was ultimately not selected. This time around, he is set to take over a ministry with more than 3.4 million troops and civilian employees.
Pete Hegseth is “tough, smart and a true believer in ‘America First,'” the president-elect said on social media.
According to the Washington Post, Pete Hegseth succeeded in 2019 in convincing Donald Trump to pardon two soldiers accused of war crimes in Afghanistan. A graduate of the prestigious universities of Princeton and Harvard, Pete Hegseth, however, claims on his site that he returned his diploma to the latter: in his show, he criticized the university for its supposed left-wing leanings. He lives with his wife and seven children in Tennessee, a conservative state in the south of the United States.
