‘I’ve Never Had a Drinking Problem’: Pete Hegseth Defends Himself Against Raft of Allegations to Sympathetic Megyn Kelly

Pete Hegseth said he’s never had a drinking problem while defending himself against allegations of past sexual assault and heavy drinking during an interview with Megyn Kelly.

After President-elect Donald Trump nominated Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, the former Fox News star has been accused of sexual assault from a 2017 encounter. Moreover, Hegseth’s own mother called her son an “abuser of women” in an old email obtained by The New York Times.

Other reports have suggested Hegseth has had a drinking problem while a whistleblower reportedly claimed he created a hostile workplace environment during his time with Concerned Veterans for America (CVA).

Hegseth denied the allegations during a sympathetic interview with Kelly, which was released on Wednesday.

HEGSETH: Do you know how many guys I’m hearing from right now? The guys I serve with, gals that I work with at CVA and elsewhere. Don’t stop! The guys are like, it’s always. Sir, you know, don’t stop, sir, please keep going. You are fighting for us like you are our voice. We’ve never had a voice like this before.

KELLY: They’re not upset about your drinking?

HEGSETH: You know what? That’s an interesting one there. First of all, I never had a drinking problem. I don’t I’m never no one’s ever approached me and said, you should really look at getting help for a drink. Never. I’ve never sought counseling, never sought help. I respect and appreciate people who who do. But, you know, what do guys do when they come back from war? Oftentimes have some beers. You know, how do you deal with the demons you see on the battlefield? Sometimes it’s with a bottle. Unfortunately, tragically, for too many guys, it’s with the bottle and then it’s depression and even worse, suicide. I mean, we’ve got an epidemic of that in our country. Thank God, by the grace of God, I found my chapters of purpose. They pulled me out of that. I found in many ways, I found two things. My two J’s, my Jenny, my wife Jennifer changed my life, saved me. There’s just no doubt about it. And my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And without those two JS, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.

Watch the clip above.