Trump: Pete Hegseth Never Flinched Over Risk Of Leaving High-Paying Job Because He Loves America

President-elect Donald Trump said during an interview that aired over the weekend that his nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, did not care about risking his high-paying job because he wanted to serve his country.

Trump made the remarks about Hegseth, who is working hard to win over Republican senators so he can be confirmed next year, during a Sunday interview with Kristen Welker on NBC News’ “Meet The Press.”

“I told him — so he’s making a lot of money at Fox, [his family is] doing very well,” Trump said. “And I said, ‘You know, if for some reason you don’t get this thing, you’re not going to be able to go back. And all that money you’re making, you can kiss it goodbye.’ He said, ‘This is all about America.'”

“You know he didn’t say, ‘Well, let me think about it. Let me discuss it,'” Trump continued. “That’s a very big, risky thing he’s doing. When he goes and he says, ‘I’m going to give up, you know, millions of dollars in order to possibly become the secretary of defense,’ a lot of people would say, it’s a great position, there’s probably almost no greater position, but a lot of people would say, ‘I have to think about it.’ He said, ‘I don’t have to think about it.'”

He said that every time he talks to Hegseth, all he wants to do is talk about the military because “he’s a military guy.”

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“I used to kid him about it,” he added. “I didn’t think we’d be in this position where he may be, hopefully will be, secretary of defense. But every time I was with him, he was fighting for soldiers, where he said some soldier was unjustly put in prison because they were really doing what they were taught to do, in some cases. So yeah, I think he’s going to do fine.”

WATCH:

Trump says he told Pete Hegseth that he was taking a risk by leaving a high paying job to work in government because if he did not get in he would not be able to go back

Trump says Hegseth never flinched & he jumped at the opportunity because he said “this is all about America” pic.twitter.com/mKANyei5P3

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 8, 2024