Kristen Welker Asks Trump Point Blank If He’s ‘Concerned’ Pete Hegseth ‘Has Struggled with Drinking’

Trump: “Pete is doing well now. I mean, people were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy with a tremendous track record, actually. He went to Princeton and went to Harvard. He was a good student at both. But he loves the military and I think people are starting to see it. So, we’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others.”

WELKER: “Since you bring him up, do you still have confidence in Pete Hegseth?”

Trump: “Yes, I do, I really do. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him through Fox, but I’ve known him for a long time. And he’s basically a military guy. I mean, I’ve — every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military. He’s a military guy.”

WELKER: “Have you gotten assurances from senators that he’s going to be confirmed?”

Trump: “No.”

WELKER: “Do you think he can make it?”

Trump: “No. I think he will, yeah. I’ve had a lot of senators call me up saying he’s fantastic.”

WELKER: “You don’t drink yourself.”

Trump: “No.”

WELKER: “You’ve talked about how devastating drinking can be. How concerned are you that the person who you picked for this top job at the Defense Department, at least according to those who’ve worked with him, has struggled with drinking?”

Trump: “But I’ve spoken to people that know him very well and they say he does not have a drinking problem.”