Several viral social media posts claim that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was drinking alcohol during a NATO press conference.
“6 questions, 3 scotches,” reads one post by Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch News. The post had been viewed more than 3.6 million times on X by midday Tuesday. “Trump’s Drunk Secretary Hegseth just casually drinking on the job on live news,” reads another version that includes a video of the press conference.
The claims are unfounded: There is no evidence that Hegseth was drinking scotch or another alcoholic beverage during his press conference.
Last Thursday, Hegseth held a press conference following a meeting of NATO defense officials in Brussels. During the press conference, where Hegseth answered questions from reporters about a prospective resolution to the war in Ukraine, he took several sips from a small glass on his podium. There is no evidence that the glass contained alcohol. Though the liquid appears slightly brown-tinted in one of the images shared widely online, higher-definition videos from the conference show that the liquid was clear and likely water. It is common for officials to be provided glasses of water during press conferences and speaking events.
During his confirmation process, Hegseth faced scrutiny over allegations of excessive drinking, among other personal issues. In December, 10 current and former Fox employees told NBC News that Hegseth had “drank in ways that concerned his colleagues at Fox News.” The New Yorker similarly reported that Hegseth had been “repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity,” while working as president of Concerned Veterans for America.
In a December interview with Megyn Kelly, Hegseth said that he planned not to drink if confirmed. “When I deployed, we had something called General Order Number 1. And in General Order Number 1, it is, you are not allowed to drink while you’re on deployment,” Hegseth said. “That’s how I view this role as secretary of defense, is that I’m not going to have a drink at all. And that’s not hard for me because it’s not a problem for me.”
Hegseth made a similar pledge during his confirmation hearing when asked by Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono whether he would uphold a promise made to Republican senators to stop drinking if confirmed. “You recently promised some of my Republican colleagues that you’d stop drinking, won’t drink, if confirmed. Correct?” she asked. “Absolutely,” Hegseth responded. However, Hegseth refused to answer directly a question about whether he would resign the position if he was caught drinking while serving.
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Dispatch Fact Check.
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