Donald Trump speaks about Pete Hegseth’s efforts to become his defense secretary

Donald Trump has thrown his full support behind his defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth in the face of a slew of allegations about his personal life.

The president-elect slammed the ‘fake news’ and insisted the former Fox News host’s support is ‘strong and deep’ as he battles to get the votes needed for his nomination.

The 44-year-old veteran has faced resurfaced allegations of sexual assault and claims he was drunk at work, both of which he has denied.

In meetings with senators on Capitol Hill he has vowed to stay sober if his nomination to be the Pentagon chief succeeds. 

‘Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe,’ the Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning.

‘He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind. 

‘He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!’

‘Thank you Mr. President. Like you, we will never back down,’ Hegseth responded on X.

The embattled defense secretary nominee has been meeting with senators all week to convince them that he is the right choice.

Trump’s Vice President-elect J.D. Vance also piled on the support Friday.

‘Led by President Trump, we’re fighting for Pete Hegseth. And we’re doing so because Pete Hegseth wil fight for our troops,’ he wrote on X. 

‘For too long, the Pentagon has been led by people who lose wars. Pete Hegseth is a man who fought in those wars. We’ve got his back.’

Despite a united front by the Trump ticket, another candidate has emerged as the frontrunner on popular betting market Polymarket.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is leading the pack at 36 percent compared to Hegseth’s 32 percent. 

Other possible replacements Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who was tapped to be Trump’s National Security Advisor, and former Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., are trailing at 5.3 percent and 7.4 percent respectively.

The Wall Street Journal first reported earlier this week that Trump is mulling swapping his former political foe DeSantis in place of Hegseth if he doesn’t shore up support. 

But on Thursday morning, Hegseth was again spotted on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers to gain momentum for his nomination.

‘I spoke to Trump this morning, just a few minutes ago. He supports us fully,’ Hegseth said walking to a meeting with South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds.

Asked if he’ll meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, he acknowledged that it was the president-elect calling the shots. ‘If he wants a meeting we will have a meeting,’ he said

Out of the 53 Republican senators that will be overseeing his potential confirmation early next year Hegseth can only lose three GOP votes and still get through.

Several women GOP senators have expressed interest in speaking with Hegseth face-to-face to discuss the claims.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee – the panel tasked with overseeing Hegseth’s confirmation – expressed that she was not necessarily on board with the former TV host’s nomination.

During a Fox News interview host Bill Hemmer pressed Ernst on her recent meeting with Hegseth, saying it ‘doesn’t sound in your answer that you got to a yes.’

‘I think you are right,’ she responded.

‘I think for a number of our senators they want to make sure that any allegations have been cleared and that’s why we have to have a very thorough vetting,’ she said.

Many Republicans, though, appear to be on board with Trump’s selections.

But according to the latest DailyMail.com/J.L. Partners poll, voters are unsure that Hegseth is the man for the job.

The 1,000 registered voters that responded to the survey overall viewed him unfavorably.

The survey found just a majority of respondents either viewed Hegseth very or somewhat unfavorably, though the bad rating came with a slim one-point margin.

Further, a majority of voters responded saying that Hegseth is an inappropriate selection for the job.

Just 28 percent of respondents indicated his appointment was appropriate while 29 percent said it was inappropriate, the poll found.

The remaining respondents either had no opinion (27 percent) or had never heard of him (16 percent).

Out of the many nominations Trump has made for his Cabinet and other high-ranking roles, only Kristi Noem’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security and Hegseth’s nomination to be defense secretary were viewed as inappropriate.

Despite this, the poll found that voters also believe the former TV host should be confirmed to the post by a three-point margin.

Notably voters responded saying all of Trump’s selections should get confirmed.

Still, among the Republican voters that responded to the poll, Hegseth ranked among the most unpopular nominations.