“People need to listen to him, get to know him – not the Pete from seven years ago,” the mother of Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s defence secretary pick, said in an appearance on Wednesday on his former show, Fox & Friends. Penelope Hegseth was trying to combat a deluge of reporting this week accusing her son of excessive drinking, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement of the veterans’ non-profits he ran. Hegseth denies wrongdoing. His mother was also responding to reports of an email she sent to her son in 2018. “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way,” she wrote, “get some help and take an honest look at yourself.” She said she retracted the email and apologised two hours later. Although Hegseth says he can still count on Trump’s support, there are rumours the president-elect is considering replacing him with Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
