Pete Hegseth’s mother’s email sparks backlash: ‘Disgustingly low’

A new report publishing an email sent by the mother of Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, has sparked a backlash.

President-elect Trump named Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and former National Guard officer, to be his defense secretary when he takes office in January. Hegseth’s nomination has already proved divisive, with critics arguing he lacks the experience to lead the department and raising concerns about some of his past remarks, including that women should not serve in combat.

He has come under investigation after it was reported that he was accused of sexual assault in 2017, which he has denied and has not been charged.

New York Times published emails from Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, in which she expressed concern about the way he treated women.

In the email she wrote: “You are an abuser of women – that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man who belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and has been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say it, but it’s the sad, sad truth.”

These claims have not been proven and she said so Times she sent her son an “immediate” apology. She added that she wrote the email “in anger, with emotion” because of personal struggles with his wife at the time. She said the allegations in the email were “not true” and that publishing the email would be “disgusting”.

“I know my son. He’s a good father, man,” she said.

Newsweek reached out to a lawyer for Hegseth and New York Times via email for comment.

The report sparked a backlash on social media after its publication, with critics pointing to it to further their argument that Hegseth should not be confirmed as defense secretary.

“If Pete Hegseth was a decorated general or proven administrator, the Senate might look past the fact that he’d be the most messed-up character on a season of Real Housewives… but he’s a weekend talk show host,” Tim Miller, host of The Bulwark Podcastpublished on X, formerly Twitter.

“Wonder how the Republicans are going to spin this statement from Pete Hegseth’s OWN MOTHER,” wrote political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen at X.

“Hegseth was already unqualified to be Secretary of Defense simply because he has no experience running a large organization. His history with women (as described by his mother) also makes him totally unfit to run a department with hundreds of thousands of female employees ,” author James Surowiecki wrote.

On the other hand, some criticized conservatives Times to publish emails.

“The New York Times is releasing a 6-year-old private email between a mother and her son. This is abhorrently low on so many levels. Families have problems. All the time. Making these issues public for the sole purpose of securing a nomination is evil period,” wrote Sean Parnell, a former combat veteran who previously ran for the U.S. Senate as a Pennsylvania Republican.

“This bulls*** isn’t working anymore. We’re over it. This train is already moving. Get on or get run over. Cry. Whin. Lie. Butter. We don’t care anymore. The adults are in charge now,” wrote author and podcaster Kira Davis.