Pete Hegseth Talks to Mediaite About Fox’s Patriot Awards, His Veterans Special, and Eddie Gallagher

Pete Hegseth hosts the Patriot Awards

Fresh off his hosting of the Fox Nation Patriot Awards this week, Mediaite spoke to Fox News host Pete Hegseth about the event that brought a series of stars from the network’s streaming platform down to Tampa Bay for a awards ceremony coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Veterans Day.

Fox News is set to celebrate the milestone with special programming all day on Monday, but before that, Hegseth is hosting a special on veterans Sunday night at 10 p.m. featuring Navy Seals Rob O’Neill and Eddie Gallagher — the latter a controversial booking, given Gallagher’s recent trial for war crimes (he was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder).

Mediaite had a brief chat with Hegseth, himself a veteran, for our Live From the Green Room newsletter about the Fox News events, as well as his advocating for Gallagher.

Mediaite: Can you start by telling us a little bit about the Patriot Awards?

Hegseth: The Patriot Awards were an award show for what really matters. Hollywood award shows give awards to celebrities who play heroes on TV, the Patriot Awards gives awards to real heroes. Patriotism, service, and sacrifice deserve to be celebrated and highlighted—and the Patriot Awards does that.

We heard you had quite the lineup, from John Rich to Si Robertson of Duck Dynasty. What were the highlights from the night?

We had an amazing lineup of big names and FOX personalities—but the real highlights came from the great Americans who received the awards. From a patriotic coach to a 14-year old who went door-to-door to honor the flag to a veteran who ran 31-marathons in 31-days for a veterans charity, it was the unsung heroes who stole the show.

Can you tell us about the work you’re doing now with veterans?

I remain committed to ensuring that veterans received the quality health care and educational opportunities that they have earned. We made a promise to America’s veterans—and only real choice, accountability, and transparency can help deliver on those promises. Veterans—the real 1%–are the future of our country, and I’m honored to fight for them and highlight their stories every chance I get.

You also have quite the special planned for the 100th anniversary of Veterans Day on Sunday night. What can we expect?

A special Veterans Day edition of “Modern Warriors” will air on Sunday night, and I’m grateful to FOX Nation and FOX News for supporting this ongoing series. The goal of Modern Warriors is to take our viewers behind the scenes with America’s most elite warriors – getting their candidate take on issues facing our military, veterans, and our country. In this special, four special operators – two Navy SEALs, one Army Ranger, and one Army Green Beret – get very candid about the state of our military, Rules of Engagement, the war in Syria, the culture of special operations, divisiveness in America, and the meaning of Veterans Day.

Tell us about the core values that are you celebrating with this special?

We are celebrating America, and her bravest warriors. People hear all the time from pundits and politicians, “Modern Warriors” ensures people hear from warfighters—in a longer format that provides for more context and candor.

You’re set to air an interview with Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL who was acquitted in the murder of an ISIS prisoner after a medic said that he suffocated the detainee after he was stabbed by Gallagher. Do you think it’s appropriate to champion Gallagher as a hero given the allegations he stabbed an unarmed prisoner being treated by medics?

No, it is not inappropriate. The opposite, it is necessary. Eddie Gallagher is a hero. We sent him to go fight and kill ISIS, and he was very good at it. He saw and did things that regular Americans cannot fathom, and he did them to protect our freedoms.

You covered a report on Fox & Friends this week about US Defense Secretary Mark Esper urging Trump not to intervene in the war crime cases. What do you make of that? Do you think his interventions are appropriate?

Secretary Esper can make his case, and others will make theirs. Ultimately President Trump knows these cases, and will make the decision he believes is best for America—and her warfighters. I still expect big news on these cases very soon.

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