Democrats slammed for shaming Pete Hegseth's drinking amid second security breach
The Democrats X page seemed to troll the defense secretary as calls for his resignation or firing mount
Democrats faced backlash online after dealing a below-the-belt jab to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, essentially mocking his previous struggle with alcoholism.
The online showdown began on Easter night after the Democrats' X page, Writing Frank, posted: "Pete Hegseth needs to go."
The tweet followed a damning report from the New York Times, which revealed that Hegseth had shared classified details about a U.S. attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen not only with the Editor of The Atlantic, but also with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer in a separate Signal group chat distinct from the one created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
The defense secretary quickly clapped back on X, writing: Your agenda is illegals, trans & DEI — all of which are no longer allowed @ DoD." The Democrats X account responded with a blurry photo of an Apple iPhone homescreen captioned "Pete's POV," referring to his past troubles with alcohol abuse.
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While agreeing that Hegseth has proved incompetent, many X users condemned the ill-willed joke.
"I don’t like Pete Hegseth at all and don’t think he should be DefSec, but maybe let’s not shame someone for addiction?" one commenter criticized.
"Shame on you," another snapped. "Way to be absolutely disgusting. Keep it up and see how low those approval ratings go. This intern should be fired," a third rebuked.
The former Fox News host was grilled extensively on his heavy drinking habits by Democrats and Republicans during his confirmation hearing in January. Hegseth was outed by multiple reports claiming he would often be drunk at work and, in one instance, shouted "kill all muslims" while inebriated at a bar, according to the BBC.
The Trump ally told the media that he would stop drinking if he were confirmed to the senior position at the Department of Defense.
However, it's not Hegseth's apparent drinking problem that is making lawmakers from both sides demand his resignation. News of the second unsecured Signal group chat has even led Republicans to ask President Donald Trump to fire Hegseth.
“I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Don Bacon, a former Air Force general, said in an interview.
“I like him on Fox. But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern.”
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Despite the constant condemnation, President Donald Trump and his administration have stood by Hegseth and maintained that he did not share any sensitive information in either chat.
However, Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor of The Atlantic, said the former Fox News host shared targets, aircraft routes, and positions along with other specific details of how the government planned to hit Houthi Rebels in Yemen.
