Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been discussing a presidential run with close friends and associates despite the Pentagon dismissing speculation as "foolish."
According to a Friday article by NBC News, two anonymous insiders said that Hegseth is talking about a 2028 presidential run in private.
Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, has also been floating the idea during the past few months, insiders told NBC News. Pete Hegseth reportedly keeps his wife, who also used to be his Fox News producer, close by his side, even bringing her to meetings with foreign military officers.
Insiders told NBC News that Jennifer Hegseth believes her husband has the same qualities that made President Donald Trump popular with the MAGA movement. Trump's core voters like Hegseth's toughness, defiance, and conservative stance on social issues, insiders said.
Speculation about Hegseth's possible presidential run took off after he appeared at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month to stump for a Republican congressman seeking re-election. At the fair, he delivered a speech in which he used a transgender slur.
Iowa is a long-established springboard for presidential campaigns, NBC News noted. His appearance prompted questions for the Pentagon about whether he plans to run for president.
"Secretary Hegseth is not running for president," chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. "His main priority is leading the War Department. All other speculation is foolish."
The statement came out while Hegseth was having private discussions about a presidential run, based on reporting by NBC News.
An anonymous Republican political operative involved in midterm races told NBC News that Hegseth's presentation resonates with male Trump voters.
"Hegseth is good for men, for base voters," the operative said. "He encapsulates that masculinity that Trump captured in 2024."
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are already considered to be expected 2028 presidential candidates, with both rumored to be vying to be Trump's pick as successor. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also been brought up as a 2028 presidential candidate.
