“rank-and-file patriots out of their formations.”
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Pete Hegseth
Peter Brian Hegseth is an American government official, veteran, and former television personality who has served as the 29th United States secretary of defense since 2025.
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sports · American government official and television personality (born 1980) · politician · television presenter · writer · basketball player · military officer · political donor · civil servant · pundit · also Pete Hegseth, Peter Brian Hegseth, Peter B. Hegseth, Peter Hegseth, Peter Brian "Pete" Hegseth, Secretary of War
Born 6 June 1980 · Q7172014
92 published statements · 0 followers
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2026· 65 entries
“Why wouldn’t we back these guys up even if they weren’t perfect?”
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“All they do is take one incident and yell ‘war criminal,’”
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- #apnews.com
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“Wrong answer, men. You are not authorized to fire at that man, until that RPG becomes a threat. It must be pointed at you with the intent to fire. That makes it a legal and proper engagement.”
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- #saying
- #undated
- #lang:en
- #corroborated
“deserve priority over other areas of study”
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“In the late ’70s and early ’80s, sodomy was a felony in all 50 states. That America of that day was not a totalitarian hellhole,”
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“But because I naïvely believed that’s what ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was all about. Once again, our good faith was used against us,”
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“Our commander briefed the unit, peppered with a few jokes,”
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“You know, infantry stuff. We mostly laughed it off and moved on. America was at war. Gays and lesbians were already serving in the military. I had seen the enemy with my own eyes. We needed everybody.”
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“Not because I have a newfound ax to grind with gay Americans,”
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“So as a result, through ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and women in the military and these standards, they’re going to inevitably start to erode standards because they want that one female special operator, that one female Green Beret, that one female Army Ranger, that one female Navy SEAL.”
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“destroy the missile threats, destroy the navy,”
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“we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice”
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“does not do climate change crap.”
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DVIDS: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses U.S. service members supporting PANAMAX 2026
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- #headline
MS NOW: ‘Drowning in scandal’: Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary under heavy scrutiny
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Standard-Examiner: Guest opinion: Pete Hegseth’s High-T Department of War - Standard-Examiner
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People: Pete Hegseth’s Wife Attended Pentagon Meeting on Ukraine War Intel That Alarmed British Officials: ‘It’s Bonkers’
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Yahoo: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Uses Transphobic Slur in Speech at Iowa State Fair
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Yahoo: Pete Hegseth’s Wife Is Traveling With Him for a Very Awkward Reason, Claims Source
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The New York Times: Who Moves Up, and Who’s Pushed Out, in Pete Hegseth’s Military
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Radar Online: Pete Hegseth's Third Wife Jennifer Rauchet's Rising Influence at Pentagon Sparks Questions Over His 'Leadership'
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CNN en Español: Pete Hegseth lanza un insulto transfóbico durante un discurso en la Feria Estatal de Iowa
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The Independent: Pete Hegseth’s ex-Fox News wife was driving force in barring reporters from Pentagon: report
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Newsweek: Pete Hegseth Accused of Covering Up USS Abraham Lincoln Resupply Problems
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La Voce di New York: 2028 Election, Pete Hegseth Considers White House Run
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LEVEL Man: The Pentagon White Wall Under Pete Hegseth
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MS NOW: Opinion | Pete Hegseth's effort to campaign for GOP lawmakers makes zero sense
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Yahoo: Pete Hegseth’s effort to campaign for GOP lawmakers makes zero sense
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Daily Kos: Trump’s creepy aide is making waves, and does Pete Hegseth want to be president?
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Iowa Starting Line: Pete Hegseth broke his own department’s rule to fundraise for Zach Nunn
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Little Village Magazine: Pete Hegseth campaigns for Nunn, uses slurs and says troops dying is the 'cost' of fighting 'radical Islamist crazies' at Iowa State Fair
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Media Matters for America: Take a Pete Hegseth presidential bid seriously
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The New Republic: Pete Hegseth Casually Tosses Out a Slur at Iowa State Fair
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WTVG: Senator presses Hegseth, Caine for commitment to keep US military out of the midterm elections
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PinkNews: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth uses anti-trans slur in Iowa speech
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LGBTQ Nation: Pete Hegseth calls trans people a slur during speech about how military is now "gender neutral"
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Advocate.com: ‘High T’ Pete Hegseth hurls anti-trans slur at Iowa State Fair campaign stop while Iran war rages on
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Lead Stories rated the claim “A real yearbook photo shows a punk Pete Hegseth wearing guyliner.” Made With AI.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Snopes rated the claim “An image accurately shows U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dressing in emo fashion for his senior yearbook photo.” Fake.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Snopes rated the claim “In July 2026, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced testosterone screening for U.S. troops, along with replacement therapy.” True.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Snopes rated the claim “U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth once said he hasn't washed his hands in 10 years because he doesn't believe in germs.” True.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Snopes rated the claim “Residents of a French village that hosted a ceremony for the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings said U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wasn't welcome to attend.” True.
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Public attention spiked: 28,724 Wikipedia readers in one day, 3.5× the usual 8,252, with 3 article edits. Editors noted: Tattoos consistency throughout the article
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- #attention
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Snopes rated the claim “Following U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to oust Gen. Randy George as Army chief of staff in April 2026, George said, "A madman will lead the great U.S. military to ruin."” Incorrect Attribution.
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A pro-Trump group announced that Hegseth would visit Kentucky to raise support for Ed Gallrein's primary contest against Thomas Massie
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Snopes rated the claim “U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Senate hearing, demanded that he show a Combat Action Badge, revealed that he lied about combat experience and referred him for a "stolen valor" investigation.” False.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Snopes rated the claim “Videos feature authentic audio of former U.S. President Bill Clinton criticizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following his congressional testimony in late April 2026.” Fake.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Snopes rated the claim “A photo authentically shows U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth smiling as he left a news conference about the April 25, 2026, shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.” True.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Lead Stories rated the claim “Hegseth falsely presented lines from Pulp Fiction as a real biblical quote” Credit Given.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Snopes rated the claim “A video authentically shows U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivering a prayer at a Pentagon worship service that closely resembled a fictionalized Bible verse from "Pulp Fiction."” True.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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Secretary Hegseth quoted a prayer based on lines from the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, part of which is from Ezekiel 25:17, during a Pentagon prayer session led by the secretary
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Snopes rated the claim “A video authentically features audio of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth farting at the beginning of a Pentagon news conference.” Originated as Satire.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
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(Good Friday), the Pentagon hosted a Protestant service in the Pentagon chapel
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Hegseth accused Iran of firing missiles from schools and hospitals and endangering civilians
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OpenAI (the parent company of ChatGPT) announced that their head of robotics, Caitlin Kalinowski, had resigned stating, "surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorizatio
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Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei stated that his company will challenge the DoD in court
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Hegseth dismissed reports from CBS News and other outlets citing U
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That the Pentagon was "investigating" reports of a deadly airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school in Minab, Iran, while maintaining that the U
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Hegseth stated that joint U
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The Pentagon released a list of 20 partner institutions that Hegseth says are examples of "intellectual freedom, minimal relationships with adversaries, minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department, and Gra
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Hegseth used the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk and excluded it from all federal contracts
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Scouting America announced that they would immediately drop the Citizenship in the Society merit badge, will create a military service merit badge and waive registration fees for dependent children of active duty militar
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Hegseth issued a Secretarial Letter of Censure against Senator Kelly in his capacity as a retired Navy Captain, without the right to appeal
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“intellectual freedom, minimal relationships with adversaries, minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department, and Graduate-level National Security, International Affairs, and/or Public Policy Programs”
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2025· 4 entries
Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee wrote in a statement that the committee had directed inquiries about the orders to the defense department, and "we will be conducting vigorous oversig
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The Washington Post published an article alleging Hegseth had given a spoken order to kill the survivors of a September 2, 2025, strike led by SEAL Team 6 on a boat suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea
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Hegseth ordered a review of "serious allegations of misconduct" against Senator Mark Kelly — a retired Navy officer who had posted a video urging military and intelligence officials not to obey any illegal orders from th
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Career landmark: United States Secretary of Defense (2025).
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- #wikidata
- #milestone
2024· 2 entries
President-elect Donald Trump named Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense, after Arkansas senator Tom Cotton announced he would not serve as secretary
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Hegseth said that concerns over his Jerusalem cross tattoo caused the District of Columbia National Guard to pull him from a mission to guard the inauguration of President Joe Biden and helped spur him to retire from the
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2022· 1 entry
To protest the offering of classes in critical race theory at Harvard University, he reportedly wrote "Return to sender" on his degree and sent it back to the university
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2019· 2 entries
Hegseth described climate change as an attempt at government control
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Hegseth married Jennifer Rauchet, a producer on Fox & Friends, at Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck in New Jersey, an event attended by the Trump family
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2018· 1 entry
After he and his wife, Jennifer, began attending the Colts Neck Community Church in New Jersey
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2016· 2 entries
Was briefly a host on TheBlaze before regularly hosting Fox & Friends Weekend that year after Ailes's resignation, becoming an official co-host in January 2017
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On Fox News, Hegseth criticized Hillary Clinton for her email controversy, stating that her "recklessness in handling information" would usually lead to job firings and potential criminal charges, while also risking fore
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2015· 1 entry
Threw an axe during a Flag Day event in New York City, accidentally hitting a drummer from the United States Military Academy
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2014· 1 entry
Was promoted to major and assigned to the Individual Ready Reserve
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2013· 1 entry
Studied at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Master of Public Policy (2009–2013).
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- #wikidata
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2010· 1 entry
Hegseth deployed with the Minnesota Army National Guard as a counterinsurgency instructor
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2009· 1 entry
But completed just one semester; he graduated in 2013 with a degree in public policy
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2006· 1 entry
As an unpaid director; by 2007, he was working full-time as an executive director, and by 2008, he became the organization's president
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2004· 2 entries
Hegseth married Meredith Schwarz, a graduate of Forest Lake Area High School, at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Minnesota
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And for 11 months he was a Minnesota Army National Guardsman at Guantanamo Bay detention camp
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2003· 3 entries
Studied at Princeton University, Bachelor of Arts (2003).
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Hegseth was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army through the university's Reserve Officers' Training Corps program
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Was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, serving at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan
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2002· 1 entry
“defend the pillars of Western civilization against the distractions of diversity”
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2000· 1 entry
Played for Princeton Tigers men's basketball (2000–2003).
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- #team
- #sports
1999· 1 entry
Studied at Forest Lake Area High School (1999).
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- #education
1980· 1 entry
Born 1980-06-06.
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- #wikidata
- #birth