Pete Hegseth: ‘I Never Had a Drinking Problem’

EXCERPT:

KELLY: “They're not upset about your drinking?”
HEGSETH: “You know what that's -- it is an interesting one there. First of all, um, I never had a drinking problem. I don't -- never -- no one's ever approached me and said 'Oh, you -- you should really look at getting help for a drink.' Never. I've never sought counseling, never sought help. I respect and appreciate people who -- who do. But you know, what do guys do when they come back from war oftentimes? Have some beers. You know, how do you deal with the demons you see on the battlefield. Sometimes it's with a bottle. Unfortunately, tragically for too many guys, it's with the bottle and then it's depression and even worse, suicide. I mean we've got an epidemic of that in our country. Thank God, by the grace of God, I found my chapters of purpose. It pulled me out of that. I -- I found -- in many ways I found two things, my two Js, my Jenny, my wife Jennifer, changed my life, saved me, there's just no doubt about it, and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And without those two Js I wouldn't be sitting here right now. But with those two Js, like my mom said this morning and I didn't get a chance to see all of it, but God bless my mom, I'm a very different person than I was 10 years ago, than I was 15 years ago.”