Fox’s Will Cain Lashes Out at Buddy Pete Hegseth’s ‘Defamatory’ Critics : ‘I’m Waiting for the Army of Lawyers… That Is Malice!’
Screenshot via PBD Podcast
Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Will Cain lashed out at critics of his colleague and friend Pete Hegseth following the latter’s nomination to serve as secretary of defense by President-elect Donald Trump.
Cain joined Patrick-Bet David on The PBD Podcast on Tuesday and accused Hegseth’s critics of defaming him with accusations of racism.
In one clip shown on the podcast, former NAACP Legal Defense Fund president Sherrilyn Ifill claimed on MSNBC that Hegseth is a known “white supremacist,” something host Chris Hayes had to immediately hit with a disclaimer, noting Hegseth would strenuously deny such an accusation.
Hegseth’s criticism of DEI and his tattoos have come under scrutiny from critics, with some associating his Jerusalem Cross tattoo on his chest with white supremacist movements. Hegseth himself has pushed back on these lines of attack, characterizing them “anti-Christian bigotry.”
Cain, who described Hegseth as a “real friend, not a TV friend,” told Bet-David that he’s waiting on an “army of lawyers” to target some of Hegseth’s critics.
“This is an incredible, incredible man with the right values, a flawed man who has made mistakes in his life, but a good man who wants to live up to his values and dearly loves the United States of America,” Cain said. “This tattoo issue is nothing short of defamatory, and I’m waiting for the army of lawyers to start attacking the mainstream media for — look, I’m an attorney, I went to law school, for a public figure the standard is malice or reckless disregard for the truth. That is malice. That is malice.”
Cain noted that an image of a shirtless Hegseth has been used repeatedly in media coverage of his tattoos, but few have noted that it was taken during an annual swim with Navy SEALs that Hegseth takes in the Hudson River.
“If that is some type of white nationalist symbol, why would he be blaring it across the news channel to a national audience, millions of people watching? That’s the Jerusalem Cross. That is a cross that has been used since the Crusades, since 1096, it’s still used in Bibles,” Cain said. “And I think he’s right, for them to attack that right there as white supremacist is nothing short of defamatory, not just towards Pete, but towards historical literacy, exposing yourself as an idiot.”
Hegseth’s co-host also told Bet-David during the podcast that he had an “idea” for months that Trump may be eyeing Hegseth for a role in his administration, though he also argued Trump was always pretty open about the idea.
“During the show, while we’re on air, he said, ‘you, Pete Hegseth, would be great for Secretary of Defense,’ says it on air, right there. ‘I’d love to have you,'” Cain said. “Then he says, ‘I’d love to have all three of you, I’d take all three of you if I could.'”
Watch above via The PBD Podcast.
