Conservative radio host Ben Ferguson condemned liberal activist Francesca Fiorentini for accusing Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, of rape. In 2017, a woman alleged that Hegseth had sexually assaulted her. However, in 2020, Hegseth and his accuser reached an out-of-court settlement. Hegseth’s attorney stated that he chose to settle to prevent the allegations from harming his career at Fox News.
When Fiorentini referred to Hegseth as a rapist on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Ferguson attacked her character, calling her an awful person and expressing his hope that Hegseth would sue her for making defamatory statements. “Can I just say that I do think that Pete Hegseth actually is a good choice to oversee the U.S. military? I think they have a lot in common, like just like the U.S. military. Pete Hegseth doesn’t practice consent, you know, when raping and pillaging other people,” Fiorentini said. “And I think the U.S. military does the same thing. They rape and pillage other countries.”
That set Ferguson off. “God, you’re a disgusting human being. I hope he sues you for this. I really do. I hope he sues you for libel and defamation. You deserve to be sued right now for what you just said,” Ferguson said. “And I hope they clean you out. You’re disgusting. You are a disgusting person to say that about someone when you know nothing about it. It’s disgusting that you just go on TV and you have no accountability for calling someone a rapist. You are a sick person.”
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According to a police report, witnesses did not observe the woman who accused Hegseth as being intoxicated before or after their sexual encounter. She stated that she could not remember details of how she returned from a bar to a hotel room with him or much of their interaction, which she attributed to either being drugged or having consumed alcohol. Hegseth’s attorney has insisted that their interaction was consensual and that the accusations constitute de facto blackmail.
CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten stated on Wednesday that it would be nearly miraculous for Pete Hegseth to be confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense. Enten pointed out that the betting odds for Hegseth’s confirmation have dropped below those of Republican Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, who previously withdrew from consideration to be the president-elect’s nominee for attorney general.
“This is the type of odds when you really think that it would take a minor miracle, a mini Hail Mary to, in fact, be confirmed by the United States Senate. The bottom line is this: The bettors very down on Pete Hegseth,” Enten said. “You could do it in any language you want to do it, you could do ‘oy, no bueno, no good,’ this 12%. Could it happen? Yeah, maybe. But chances are this dude is not going to get confirmed as the next defense secretary.”
