Secretary of Defense Nominee Pete Hegseth Said He Doesn't Wash His Hands: "Germs Are Not a Real Thing"
"I don't really wash my hands, ever," Pete Hegseth said. "Germs are not a real thing. I can't see them; therefore, they're not real."
Published Nov. 13 2024, 9:38 a.m. ET
On Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, president-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as the secretary of defense.
Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran and co-host of Fox & Friends Weekends, is a longtime conservative and one of Trump's most loyal supporters.
Now, as if this choice wasn't shocking enough, a 2019 clip from the Fox News program has resurfaced and is making the rounds on social media, where Pete Hegseth admits that he doesn't wash his hands and hasn't done so in a decade.
Check it out below and see the reactions pouring in!
A resurfaced video shows Pete Hegseth admitting that he doesn't wash his hands.
Following the news that Hegseth is Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, MeidasTouch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted a 2019 clip where the Fox News commentator openly admitted he doesn't wash his hands.
"I don't think I've washed my hands for 10 years," Hegseth said, sparking laughter from his co-hosts, Ed Henry and Jedediah Bila. "I don't really wash my hands, ever.
"I inoculate myself," he continued. "Germs are not a real thing. I can't see them; therefore, they're not real."
Jedediah instantly joked that he must be immune to all the bacteria, and the Harvard and Princeton alum replied, "Exactly. I can't get sick."
His comments sparked widespread concern, much like they did in 2019, but Hegseth later told USA Today that it was simply a joke.
"We live in a society where people walk around with bottles of Purell in their pockets, and they sanitize 19,000 times a day as if that’s going to save their life," he explained. "I take care of myself and all that, but I don't obsess over everything all the time."
He added, "We're on a show, and we have fun, and we banter, and I'm like, eh, you know, maybe I haven't washed my hands for 10 years. If you look at Ed and Jedediah's reaction, they are laughing like we are (on) every show."