MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Rips Trump World ‘Bullying’ On Hegseth — Notes Bombshell Allegations ‘Are From Fellow Conservatives’
MSNBC host Chris Hayes ripped Trump-world “bullying” on behalf of Pete Hegseth — President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee to run the Department of Defense — and pointed out the bombshell allegations against him “are from fellow conservatives.”
Hegseth’s chances of being confirmed have been hampered by developments like new details about a rape allegation over which he previously paid a financial settlement without admitting guilt, a 2018 email from his mother in which she called him “an abuser of women,” a devastating whistleblower report, and allegations of excessive drinking, including on the job.
But a pressure campaign — wearing down Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), for example —appears to have shifted the playing field and kept Hegseth in play.
On Wednesday night’s edition of MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, Hayes called on GOP senators to resist and “act independently” to oppose Hegseth and other Trump nominees “and their sheer lack of qualifications”:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: It doesn’t sound on your answer that you have gotten to a yes. If I’m wrong about that, correct me. And if that is the case, it sounds to me as if the hearing will be critical for his nomination. Am I right about that?
SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): I think you are right. I think, for a number of our senators, they want to make sure that any allegations have been cleared. And that’s why we have to have a very thorough vetting process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS HAYES: That was just six days ago.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa said she had not gotten to a yes on Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. She said a very thorough vetting of him was needed and any allegations against him have to have been cleared.
Four days later, before hearings, of course, Ernst seemed to change her tune a bit, saying: “As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.”
Not quite a yes, but closer. What changed is an intensive campaign of bullying and threats against Ernst, who is seen as key to Hegseth getting confirmed, including an ad that targets Ernst’s home state of Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: The deep state is trying to stop his nomination, but Pete isn’t backing down. Call your senator today and urge them to confirm Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAYES: It did not stop there.
Earlier this week, an Iowa-based conservative podcaster named Steve Deace devoted a big part of his show to talking about how to politically punish Ernst.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE DEACE, CONSERVATIVE PODCASTER: Next hour, we are going to walk through the process of taking out an incumbent U.S. senator, because the biggest story that’s happening in domestic politics right now is Joni Ernst and the Pete Hegseth nomination for Department of Defense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAYES: Here’s why they are pushing Hegseth so hard.
After the Matt Gaetz pick blew apart, the right wants to make sure that no other Trump choices fail. And so Trump allies are trying to cast the allegations against Hegseth as a creation of the deep state, the media, anonymous sources, although let’s just be really clear here.
The complaints, many of them have been anonymous, but are coming from fellow conservatives who worked for Hegseth, like members of the Koch-funded veterans advocacy group CVA, and a Republican woman who told a nurse at a hospital and then police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her at a conservative political conference, allegations he denies. He says they had consensual sex.
Donald Trump’s allies are trying to bully Republicans into confirming Donald Trump’s clearly unqualified picks for the most powerful positions in the U.S. government. The open question is whether nominees like Hegseth and others and their sheer lack of qualifications creates actual political conflict that pushes enough members of the Republican Senate to withstand the pressure and act independently.
Watch above via MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes.
