A carefully elaborated media smear campaign, combining the worst elements of the Bork and Kavanaugh confirmation processes, crashed and burned. Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth appears to have bolstered his confirmation chances, and the media were not thrilled to report that.
All three major network newscasts were goofy, but the goofiest was the CBS Evening News. Watch anchor Norah O’Donnell’s introduction to Nikole Killion’s reporting:
You can tell the media were mad at how Pete Hegseth's SECDEF confirmation hearing went by their reporting on it: pic.twitter.com/fKgKbbvnyd
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 15, 2025
NORAH O’DONNELL: Good evening. I'm Norah O'Donnell, and we begin with tough new questions about the man hoping to lead the Pentagon, one of the most powerful jobs here in Washington. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled Pete Hegseth. Why? Well, the Secretary of Defense manages a nearly $1 trillion budget and 3.4 million personnel. Democratic senators today zeroed in on his limited management experience, and allegations of sexual assault and heavy drinking. There were also concerns raised about what he said about women in combat. The 44-year-old military veteran and former Fox News personality was combative and unapologetic, denying many accusations. Hegseth has vowed not to drink if confirmed to the top Defense post but did not say he would resign if he faltered.
Norah O’Donnell basically recited the (manufactured) case against Hegseth and touched the hearing lowlights before tossing to correspondent Nikole Killion for a confrontational report.
ABC World News Tonight had a similar opening and report:
DAVID MUIR: Now to the tense questioning on Capitol Hill today. President-Elect Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary, former Fox host Pete Hegseth grilled on what he has said about women in the military, about allegations of infidelity, about alcohol abuse, and about financial mismanagement. How he answered these questions, and where his support now stands tonight.
Rachel Scott’s report was tonally similar to that of CBS: with a very heavy focus on Democrat opposition to Hegseth, A disproportionate number of senator sound bites came from Democrats as opposed to Republicans. Five Democrats to two Republicans, to be exact (as opposed to 3D-1R on CBS, and 2D-2R on NBC).
The most balanced report came from the NBC Nightly News. However, anchor Lester Holt couldn’t resist dropping this weird characterization of Hegseth disputing the unsourced, anonymous allegations against him:
LESTER HOLT: The political will behind President-Elect Trump's second Cabinet is getting its first test. To listen in on the Senate confirmation hearing of decorated combat veteran and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, you would be left thinking he is either unfit to lead the Pentagon or an excellent choice as a change agent for a sprawling military bureaucracy. Democrats focusing on Hegseths' past comments about women in combat, as well as allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking. Hegseth sliming those allegations as anonymous false claims, and part of a smear campaign.
“Sliming the allegations” is a very sneaky way of framing them as true for NBC’s viewing audience.
Garrett Haake’s report touched details not mentioned on ABC or CBS, such as the district attorney’s reasons for not filing charges against Hegseth due to inability to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
This nomination was supposed to implode under the weight of the unsourced allegations and the intensity of their echoes reverberating throughout the media. But that didn’t happen. Watching the media’s coverage of the hearing suggests that they know that their Kavaborking campaign failed.
Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective newscasts on Tuesday, January 14th, 2025:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
1/14/25
6:38 PM
DAVID MUIR: Now to the tense questioning on Capitol Hill today. President-Elect Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary, former Fox host Pete Hegseth grilled on what he has said about women in the military, about allegations of infidelity, about alcohol abuse, and about financial mismanagement. How he answered these questions, and where his support now stands tonight. Rachel Scott on The Hill.
RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, in a tense, often explosive hearing, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox News host, defending his qualifications to lead the world's most powerful fighting force.
PETE HEGSETH: We will re-establish trust in our military, addressing the recruiting crisis, the retention crisis, and readiness crisis in our ranks.
SCOTT: From the outset, Democrats making their objections clear.
JACK REED: I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job.
SCOTT: Hegseth casting himself as the victim of false and anonymous smears, but often finding himself on the defensive, particularly concerning the role of women in the military.
HEGSETH: In ways direct, indirect, overt and subtle, standards have been changed inside infantry training units, Ranger school, infantry battalions to ensure that commanders meet…
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: Give me one example. Please give me an example. I get you're making these generalized statements.
HEGSETH: …commanders meet quotas to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted, and that disparages those women who are incredibly capable of meeting that standard.
GILLIBRAND: Commanders do not have to meet quotas. Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry. That does not exist. It does not exist.
SCOTT: Last year, Hegseth said point blank, women should not be allowed to serve in combat. Today, he seemed to have addressed the concerns of one key Republican senator, Joni Ernst, herself a combat veteran.
JONI ERNST: As Secretary of Defense, will you support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat roles?
HEGSETH: Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles, given the standards remain high and we'll have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded.
SCOTT: But Democrat Elizabeth Warren accused Hegseth of changing his position.
HEGSETH: This issue has always been about standards, and unfortunately, because of some of the people that have been in political power over the last 4 years--
ELIZABETH WARREN: Excuse me, Mr. Hegseth, let's just stop- let’s just stop- let’s just stop right there. Mr. Hegseth, I'm quoting you -- I'm quoting you from the podcast. “Women shouldn't be in combat at all.” Where is the reference to standards? That they should be there if they can carry, if they can run? I don't see that at all, Mr. Hegseth.
SCOTT: Hegseth also pressed about an accusation he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017. A charge he denies, claiming the encounter was consensual. Senator Tim Kaine pointing out that at the time, Hegseth was married, and had recently had a baby with another woman.
TIM KAINE: But you acknowledge that you cheated on your wife and that you cheated on the woman who, by whom you had just fathered a child? You have admitted that?
HEGSETH: I will allow your words to speak for themselves…
KAINE: You’re not retracting that today.
SCOTT: Democrats challenging him on reports of excessive drinking. He has promised he would not drink alcohol if he's confirmed.
MARK KELLY: A CVA staffer stated that you passed out in the back of a party bus. Is that true or false?
HEGSETH: Anonymous smears.
SCOTT: Republicans on the committee making it clear they’ve got Hegseth's back.
ROGER WICKER: He is a decorated post-9/11 combat veteran. He will inject a new warrior ethos into the Pentagon, a spirit that can cascade from the top down.
SCOTT: And David, that key Republican senator Joni Ernst announced just moments ago that she will be supporting Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary.. It now appears he has the full support of Republicans on the Armed Services Committee. We could see the Senate take up his confirmation as soon as next week. David.
MUIR: All right. Rachel Scott with the late reporting for us. Thank you
CBS EVENING NEWS
1/14/25
6:30 PM
NORAH O’DONNELL: Good evening. I'm Norah O'Donnell, and we begin with tough new questions about the man hoping to lead the Pentagon, one of the most powerful jobs here in Washington. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled Pete Hegseth. Why? Well, the Secretary of Defense manages a nearly $1 trillion budget and 3.4 million personnel. Democratic senators today zeroed in on his limited management experience, and allegations of sexual assault and heavy drinking. There were also concerns raised about what he said about women in combat. The 44-year-old military veteran and former Fox News personality was combative and unapologetic, denying many accusations. Hegseth has vowed not to drink if confirmed to the top Defense post but did not say he would resign if he faltered. CBS's Nikole Killion leads off our coverage tonight from Capitol Hill.
NIKOLE KILLION: Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth arrived on Capitol Hill this morning casting himself as a change agent.
PETE HEGSETH: Now it is true, it has been acknowledged that I don't have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years. But it's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm.
KILLION: But the former Army major was quickly bombarded by rapid fire, grilled about his views of women serving in combat.
HEGSETH: I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: Please explain these types of statements because they are brutal and they are mean and they disrespect men and women who are willing to die for this country.
HEGSETH: Well, Senator, I appreciate your comments. And I would point out I have never disparaged women serving in the military. I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform.
KILLION: The ex-Fox News host was also pressed about accusations of sexual assault at a Monterrey, California hotel in 2017.
TIM KAINE: At that time you were still married to your second wife, correct?
HEGSETH: I believe so.
KAINE: And you had just fathered a child by a woman who would later become your third wife, correct?
HEGSETH: Senator, I was falsely charged, fully investigated and completely cleared.
KAINE: So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime, that's your definition of cleared? You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you are completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child that had been born two months before, and you tell us you are completely cleared? How is that a complete clear?
HEGSETH: Senator, her child’s name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth, and she’s a child of God. She’s seven years old.
KILLION: Hegseth underwent an FBI background check. But Democrats claimed it did not include interviews with Hegseth’s accuser or ex-wives.
JACK REED: I believe the investigation was insufficient, frankly.
KILLION: And, according to the New Yorker, Republicans Joni Ernst and Susan Collins turned down meetings with Hegseth's alleged accuser, which they both disputed. Do you want to hear from the accuser, Senator? Did someone reach out to your office, Senator? Yes or no?
KILLION: As for Hegseth's overall qualifications, Republicans accused Democrats of being hypocritical.
MARKWAYNE MULLIN: How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And then how many senators do you know have got a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down?
KILLION: Tonight, the Trump team is pleased with Hegseth's performance, with one advisor telling CBS News it sets the tone for the rest of their nominees. Hegseth will continue meeting with senators. A committee vote on his confirmation is set for inauguration Day. Norah.
O’DONNELL: Nikole Killion on Capitol Hill. Nikole, thank you very much.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
1/14/25
6:31 PM
LESTER HOLT: The political will behind President-Elect Trump's second Cabinet is getting its first test. To listen in on the Senate confirmation hearing of decorated combat veteran and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, you would be left thinking he is either unfit to lead the Pentagon or an excellent choice as a change agent for a sprawling military bureaucracy. Democrats focusing on Hegseths' past comments about women in combat, as well as allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking. Hegseth sliming those allegations as anonymous false claims, and part of a smear campaign. Lawmakers sharply divided among party lines in this, the first and the most contentious confirmation hearing, just six days before Trump's inauguration. It’s where we will begin tonight with NBC’s Garrett Haake.
GARRETT HAAKE: Tonight, President-Elect Trump's embattled pick to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News host and combat veteran Pete Hegseth, making an impassioned pitch for the job.
PETE HEGSETH: It is time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. My only special interest is the war fighter.
HAAKE: Arguing he’s the target of false attacks.
HEGSETH: There is a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us.
HAAKE: But Hegseth facing a grilling from Senate Democrats, including over a 2017 sexual assault allegation. Police investigated but no charges were filed. The local prosecutor saying, quote: “no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
TIM KAINE: You’ve admitted that it was consensual, and you were still married and you just had a child by another woman. How do you explain your--
HEGSETH:Again. Completely false charges against me. Fully investigated and I was completely cleared.
KAINE: You have admitted that you had sex while you were married to wife two after you had just fathered a child by wife three. You’ve admitted that. Now, if it had been a sexual assault that would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense, wouldn’t it?
HEGSETH: It was a false claim then and a false claim now.
HAAKE: Republicans rallying to his defense.
ERIC SCHMITT: We need somebody who’s going to go in there and fight for innovation, fight for change. I think you’re that person. And I appreciate your willingness to sit here and listen to some of these undignified attacks. It’s ridiculous.
HAAKE: Democrats also going after Hegseth's past opposition to women in combat roles.
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: You will have to change how you see women to do this job well, and I don't know if you are capable of that.
HAAKE: But in a positive moment for Hegseth Iowa’s Joni Ernst, a combat veteran previously seen as a Hegseth skeptic, appearing more supportive today.
JONI ERNST: Will you support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat roles.
HEGSETH: My answer is yes. Exactly the way that you caveated it. Yes. Women will have access to ground combat roles given the standards remain high.
HOLT: Garrett joining us now. Garrett, this was seen largely as a make or break moment for Hegseth. And you have some new reporting on the impact of all this.
HAAKE: That’s right, Lester. Trump transition officials are extremely pleased with Hegseth's performance today. Now remember- if all Democrats oppose him he can only afford to lose three Republican votes and still be confirmed. Tonight, one Republican senator tells me he thinks Hegseth is on track to that confirmation, possibly as early as next week. Lester.
HOLT: All right. Garrett Haake, thank you.
