--- title: "Trump’s Drunkard Nominee Promises to Stop Drinking… If He Gets to Run the Military" description: "Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says he'll stop drinking if he gets confirmed by the Senate." date: "2024-12-05" modified: "2024-12-05" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-hegseth-alcohol" categories: - "Future Society" - "Military" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "donald trump" - "politics" - "the digest" --- # Trump’s Drunkard Nominee Promises to Stop Drinking… If He Gets to Run the Military ![Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says he'll stop drinking if he gets confirmed by the Senate.]() *\Image: Mostafa Bassim / Anadolu via Getty / Futurism\* ## Pinky Promise You gotta know when to choose your battles. But Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense, has seemingly decided to fight a losing one. The [former *Fox News* host]() and military veteran's confirmation is now [on thin ice]() after disturbing [allegations of a sexual assault]() from 2017 were recently revealed to the public. Those are the most serious claims against him, but what's really stuck are persistent allegations that the 44-year-old is an embarrassing drunkard who [can't stop showing up to work totally hammered](). Hegseth's [alleged alcoholism]() — which is said to fuel his troubling pattern of sexual behavior, including the assault — has become such a flashpoint that it has everyone from the [most powerful Republicans]() in the country [to his own mom]() weighing in with grave, patronizing concern. After all, the position he's been nominated for ultimately controls everything from drone strikes to nuclear missiles. But rest assured: Hegseth has now [reportedly vowed]() to senators that he'll stop drinking — as soon as he gets the stress-free job as leader of the world's most powerful military, that is. No pressure there. ## Drinker Fidelis Hegseth probably didn't expect his senate confirmation to turn into a messy public intervention on his behalf, but he really isn't doing himself any favors. Amid a flurry of [damning allegations of disturbing sexual behavior]() of his own, erstwhile Trump nominee Matt Gaetz was wise enough to [withdraw himself from consideration]() and let someone else vie for Attorney General. (It still remains an alleged [sex pest riddled administration](), however.) Whereas Hegseth has recently proclaimed that he'll "[fight like hell]()" to get the confirmation — even though Trump's transition team is [reportedly fuming at him]() behind the scenes. Undeterred, he also repeated the promise to put down the bottle once confirmed in an interview on the *Megyn Kelly Show* on Wednesday, comparing the defense job to getting deployed. "This is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won't be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I'm doing it," Hegseth said, [per *Newsweek*](). Ironically, Hegseth's promise to stop drinking once he gets the job is exactly what an inveterate drunk would say — which, again, he [denies being in the first place](). It's not a promise to stop drinking *now*. It's just a few drinks to tide him over until he gets into a better place in life. Anyway, don't take our word for it — and definitely don't take Hegseth's. Just ask some of his former colleagues at *Fox*, who felt they had to "babysit" him because of alcoholism, about how much of a drunken stooge this guy is. "He should not be secretary of defense," an anonymous Fox employee [told *NBC News*](). "His drinking should be disqualifying." **More on Trump:** *[Trump Names Billionaire Space Tourist as Head of NASA]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()