Trump's preferred candidate

Email from his mother reveals deep abysses

Pete Hegseth was nominated by Donald Trump to head the Pentagon.

(Bild: AFP/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Pete Hegseth could be ousted by Donald Trump before he has even been in office for a day. The US President-elect's preferred Secretary of Defense is facing a series of serious accusations. An email from his mother reveals human abysses.

Names of possible candidates to replace him are already being whispered in Washington. The governor from Florida, Ron DeSantis, is considered the favorite. This was reported by the "Wall Street Journal" on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the talks. Hegseth's nomination is shaky because allegations about his private and professional life are piling up.

An email from his mother Penelope could now be the political death blow. The letter from 2018 was leaked to the New York Times, in which she severely reproaches her son for his treatment of women. It reads: "You are an abuser of women - that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for a man who degrades women, lies to them, cheats on them, sleeps with them and uses them for his own power and ego."

Mother now rows back
His behavior was "despicable" and "insulting". She concluded her angry letter to her son, who should have been in charge of the most powerful military in the world, with a clear message: "On behalf of all women (and I know there are many) who you have abused in any way, I say ... get help and be honest with yourself ..." Meanwhile, his mother affirmed that these lines were written in an agitated state. Hegseth is a good father and husband.

Hegseth has many questions to answer about his character.

(Bild: AFP/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump allies are nevertheless increasingly convinced that he could be the wrong candidate. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called some of the reports about Hegseth's past behavior disturbing. "I want to make sure that every young woman in the US armed forces feels safe and respected," Graham said, according to the AP news agency.

Hegseth is said to have a drinking problem
In addition to his treatment of women, Hegseth is accused of unprofessional behavior. This involves mismanagement of funds and drunkenness in the work environment, which is said to have led to his dismissal from a non-profit organization for veterans.

Hegseth, a war veteran and former Fox News presenter, would need the support of Republicans in the Senate to be confirmed for the post. Trump's office and DeSantis' team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ron DeSantis, who lost his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to Trump, was already on an earlier list of possible candidates for Secretary of Defense, according to the Wall Street Journal, but Trump initially chose Hegseth. After his mother's revelations, however, he is unlikely to have any chance of becoming head of the Pentagon. However, he himself is not thinking of resigning and wants to continue.

Hegseth defends himself against accusations
"I'm doing this for the fighters, not the warmongers," the war veteran and Fox News presenter wrote on X on Wednesday. His opponents would want to defame him with "invented, anonymous sources and stories full of nonsense".

As head of the Pentagon, Hegseth, who has virtually no government experience, would be at the helm of a military administration with 3.4 million soldiers and civilian employees and an annual budget of more than 850 billion dollars (806.6 billion euros). The former soldier's CV includes combat experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he rose to the rank of major in the National Guard.