Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth's mother, Penelope, appeared on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning to set the record straight about her relationship with her son and her thoughts about his character after an e-mail she sent him in 2019 was published over the weekend by the New York Times.

Both the New York Times and the New Yorker documented the e-mail she sent when Pete Hegseth was going through a fractious divorce. She shared it with NYT and then asked them to retract it. They denied her request and ran with it anyway.

[A]s the Times first reported, his mother, Penelope Hegseth, sent him an e-mail excoriating him as “an abuser of women” who “belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego.” She admonished him, “Get some help and take an honest look at yourself.” (A Trump spokesman denounced the newspaper’s publication of the e-mail as “despicable” and noted that Hegseth’s mother had apologized to him for writing it.)

In the interview, Mama Hegseth detailed at length how she was approached by the NYT, what was going on at that time, and why the media cannot be trusted - specifically noting a threat allegedly made to get her to talk.

Pete Hegseth’s mom Penelope lambasts the media for threatening her and lying about her son.

She then explains the truth about the leaked email and how Pete is a patriot who America is lucky to have.

Go Penelope!pic.twitter.com/kZIfOyYbwm

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) December 4, 2024

The interview with Hegseth's mother was a full 20 minutes, a huge amount of time to spend on a morning segment, that will no doubt be pushed to drive this nomination forward, as it is still at the top of the news cycle.  

PENELOPE HEGSETH: @PeteHegseth is "the most faithful patriot of this country ... he has fought and almost died for his country. He's a good dad, he's an amazing son and father — and that's the Pete I want people to know." pic.twitter.com/3sgSVvfVm7

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 4, 2024

Mama Hegseth's affirmation of her son, her condemnation of the legacy media and its tactics, and her direct address to the "female senators on the Hill" to not listen to the media is going to have huge weight.

“Thank you for your belief in my son” - Pete Hegseth’s mother sets the record straight in appearance on Fox & Friends pic.twitter.com/YwfzYbXYCv

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) December 4, 2024

Let's hope that weight drives the final nail in the coffin of this power play from the D.C.-elite on who Trump has nominated for his cabinet and who they want to see in his cabinet. 

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The full interview can be viewed below.

Full interview: Pete Hegseth’s mother sets the record straight pic.twitter.com/QCW57WuEJc

— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) December 4, 2024