Pete Hegseth’s Colleagues Deny White Supremacy Allegations in First ‘Fox & Friends’ Since Nomination: ‘This is Defamation’ | Video

“Fox & Friends” cohost Pete Hegseth might not have been on the air today, but his presence was certainly felt. In the wake of Hegseth’s absence, presumably due to his nomination as Trump’s potential defense secretary, cohosts Will Cain and Rachel Campos-Duffy were more than willing to defend him against various allegations that he is a white supremacist.

“If he was a white supremacist, I think we’d know, and I hope that he has the time, which I’m sure he doesn’t because he’s preparing for his hearings and everything before the Senate, that woman deserves to be sued. That is defamation,” Campos-Duffy insisted.

Cain offered a lengthier defense of the man he said is “one of the people who I feel like I know best in my life.” Earlier this week, former NAACP Legal Defense Fund president Sherrilyn Ifill told Chris Hayes, “This is someone who is known to be a white supremacist, known to be an extremist, whose book is basically about his opposition to the advancement of Black officers to the top brass.”

“And the military is actually a very important area for Black advancement. By the way, the Department of Defense has 3 million employees. There’s no evidence that this man has ever run anything. The fact that he is a veteran is simply insufficient. Because these are two very, very important positions, they strike me as eminently dangerous,” Ifill also said.

Ifill also referenced Hegseth’s tattoo of a Jerusalem Cross and another of the words “deus vult” — Latin for “God wills it.” The image of the Jerusalem Cross dates back to the Crusades and the phrase “deus vult” has been incorporated into several far-right white supremacist movements. “Deus valt” in particular was often yelled by Christians fighting Muslims, and can sometimes be used by people who are anti-Islam.

Cain denied Ifill’s accusations. “That ridiculous opinion is based upon what she accuses him of being against: DEI [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion]. So merit is now racist is what she’s suggesting,” he said. “And the fact that he has tattoos. Now, look, if he was ashamed … I would suggest to you he wouldn’t take his shirt off and swim with 100 Navy SEALs on live television every year. He talks about his tattoos.”

“He has a Jerusalem Cross on his chest. He has a ‘God wills it’ Latin tattoo on his bicep. And this has been something that they’re also pointing out, according to Associated Press report. Pete’s talked about this, so it’s not news to a lot of people that already know this.”

Cain added that this isn’t the first time Hegseth’s tattoos have caused issues for him. “He was kicked off National Guard duty for protecting Joe Biden’s inauguration because an email came in, a complaint was lodged at the time, and now the Associated Press has the email where a fellow Guard member who was the unit security manager and on an anti-terrorism team at the time shared with the AP an email he sent a unit’s leadership flagging a tattoo that read ‘Deus vult,’ — that’s ‘God wills it.’ It’s been used by white supremacists concerned it was an indication of an insider threat. This is a saying, by the way. It goes back to 1096. I mean, I read the email. It’s one man’s internet rabbit hole theory.”

Ifill’s comments this week also prompted a response from First Lady Jill Biden’s former press secretary, Michael LaRosa. He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “This shit has to stop. Opposing DEI initiatives does not make you a white supremacist. Conversations and demonization like this are a big part of the reason we got our asses kicked.”

“The answer to extremism is not more extremism. Voices like this on the left are turning the Democratic Party into a joke. We’ve got to knock it off and get serious guests who are going to diagnose politics, not make it worse,” he added.

Elsewhere on the show, Lara Trump told Cain that she isn’t opposed to replacing Marco Rubio in the Senate. “Well, you know, there have been been crazier things the Trumps have done in the past, that’s for sure. Look, I was honored to be co-chair of RNC during this time and really historic election. I think that what we did at RNC was part of the big win Donald Trump had, and if I’m tapped to serve in another capacity, it truly would be my honor,” she explained before she clarified that no one has asked her to fill the position.

You can watch the clip from “Fox & Friends” in the video above.

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