https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Hegseth#Controversies
Controversies
On June 14, 2015, Hegseth accidentally hit a West Point drummer with an axe while filming a live TV segment in honor of Flag Day. According to the drummer, he sustained "only minor injuries." The New York Daily News reported that in a later segment, the drummer was "seen cheerfully speaking on camera as if the accident never took place."
In May 2018, Hegseth mocked The New York Times for ostensibly not covering a story about the capture of five ISIS leaders, referring to the paper as the "failing New York Times" – but The New York Times had already filed a report on the story.
In May 2019, it was reported that Trump was considering pardoning several US military service members who had been charged with war crimes, including a veteran set to stand trial for shooting indiscriminately at civilians, hitting a girl and an elderly man, as well as fatally stabbing a captured teenage Islamic State (ISIS) member while he was receiving medical treatment. The Daily Beast and CNN later reported that Hegseth had for months sought to convince Trump to pardon these individuals. At the same time, Hegseth was discussing these cases on Fox News without disclosing that he had advised Trump to pardon them. In November 2019, Trump pardoned three service members accused or convicted of war crimes. Shortly before Trump announced his decision, Hegseth suggested that Trump was about to take "imminent action" in the cases.
In July 2019, Hegseth said that one of the Muslim members of Congress, Rashida Tlaib, had a "Hamas agenda".
In August 2019, he lamented that "young kids voting" are worried about the adverse effects of climate change. Hegseth also criticized universities for teaching students about "environmentalism and radical environmentalism" rather than a "real threat" such as Islamic extremism.
In January 2020, Hegseth expressed strong support for President Trump's decision to kill Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. He also called on Trump to bomb the Iranian homeland, including cultural sites if they were storing weapons.
In February 2020, amid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Hegseth said that Democrats were "rooting for coronavirus to spread. They're rooting for it to grow. They're rooting for the problem to get worse." Hegseth suggested the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was made up by Democrats to help them in the 2022 midterm elections, saying "Count on a variant about every October, every two years."
= new reply since forum marked as read
