Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard: Trump's Picks Raise Concerns | Pivot

1. KSKara Swisher0:00

   President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI is former national security official, Kash Patel. Uh, that's a... Uh, ooh, what a strange man he is. Patel is a Trump loyalist who's vowed to come after Trump's enemies, including people in the media. A number of high-level Senate Republicans have already indicated their willingness to get behind the choice, but others, not so much. That it's a real, it's a real mixed bag on this guy. By the way, he has to fire Cr- uh, Chris Wray, who was appointed by Trump on a, to a 10-year term, so Chris Wray shouldn't be out of office until 2027. Um, it's alarming a lot of people. Um, at the same time, the Pete H- Hegseth nomination is still raising big questions. This New Yorker piece is a damning whistleblower report on his previous behavior, eh, running two organizations where he drank too much, he abused women, sexual harassment, bunch of lying, misspending, mismanagement. Th- this story is quite... has got it all, by Jane Mayer. Um, and it's, it's based on, uh, well, it's, it's a, it's a devastating, very well-reported piece about how bad a manager he was. It may have been a bad period of his life, but boy was it bad. Um, the New York Times also had the 2018 email from Hegseth's mother calling her son an abuser of women. That email was something else. Um, she told the Times she'd written the messages in anger and had apologized for it, but boy, did it have a ring of truth at the time. I guess it was during the same time period. Um, what do you think? Uh, I thought the mother thing, I was, had mixed feelings on. At the same... The New Yorker piece, I do not. It's really... He's a bad, bad, bad manager. And again, he could be going through a difficult period, but this... You, you know, if you recall, John Tower, the womanizing and the sexual, and the drinking was a big issue and sort of scuttled his, his, um, his nomination. This guy's entirely unqualified for this job. Both of them are. So, what do you think about that?

2. SGScott Galloway1:51

   I remember an era where you couldn't be on the Supreme Court if you'd been a Playboy Bunny waitress at some point in your life.

3. KSKara Swisher1:59

   Yeah.

4. SGScott Galloway1:59

   I mean, you wanna talk about how... uh, just a digression.

5. KSKara Swisher2:02

   Mm-hmm.

6. SGScott Galloway2:03

   You know, first off, Patel, he's said that he wants to go after the former head of the CIA. He says that he wants to prosecute and put in prison, you know, people who weren't supportive of Trump. He, he's called... Uh, and, and at the same time, he's found time to write kids books about Trump? This is an odd... This is an odd pers-... And then Director Wray is an outstanding individual. This is a... This is someone I, I c- I c-... I, I am so impressed by this guy. Every time he gets in front of Congress, it's one of those rare moments where you can't tell if he's a Republican or he's a Democrat.

7. KSKara Swisher2:37

   Yeah.

8. SGScott Galloway2:37

   He's just trying to do his goddamn job. And, by the way, in my opinion, reflected well on Trump. And everyone in those panels, they actually have a productive session because they realize this guy is loyal to the flag, first and foremost. And the other thing that's so dangerous, uh, m- m- my... No. Okay, so I'll go to Hegseth. As a mother and as the son of a single mother, I read that letter and I found it deeply rattling. One, I was sad, and I didn't know how comfortable I felt about it being made public. A, a letter, a communication, an emotional letter between a mother and a son, I do feel like it should be confidential. But the fact that it's out and the fact that a mother felt compelled to write that to her son?

9. KSKara Swisher3:24

   Yeah. Me too. I, uh, I couldn't-

10. SGScott Galloway3:25

    Jesus Christ.

11. KSKara Swisher3:27

    Did it have a ring of truth?

12. SGScott Galloway3:28

    I-

13. KSKara Swisher3:28

    It absolutely did.

14. SGScott Galloway3:29

    Ugh.

15. KSKara Swisher3:29

    It was beautifully written. It was all so beautifully written, by the way. It wasn't emotional. It actually was, "My son sucks." Right? I can't imagine writing it. It, it, it rattled me-

16. SGScott Galloway3:39

    Yeah, it pains me to say this.

17. KSKara Swisher3:41

    Right. It rattled me beyond belief. I thought, "I would write that letter if my son behaved like that, but I would feel sick to my fucking stomach for doing it." But I would have written-

18. SGScott Galloway3:50

    I can't imagine...

19. KSKara Swisher3:51

    ... that letter if my son behaved like this.

20. SGScott Galloway3:52

    ... that I, I can't imagine getting that letter from my mother.

21. KSKara Swisher3:55

    Mm-hmm.

22. SGScott Galloway3:55

    I just, I can't imagine, like... It would just... It would devastate me-

23. KSKara Swisher3:59

    Yeah.

24. SGScott Galloway3:59

    ... so much-

25. KSKara Swisher4:00

    Me too.

26. SGScott Galloway4:00

    ... that, uh, it would just... I, I, I can't imagine writing it, I can't imagine reading it. And, you know, uh, look, uh, Peter Hegseth, by the way, an outstanding soldier, deserves the Bronze Stars he was given. He should not be in the running for this position.

27. KSKara Swisher4:18

    Did you read that New Yorker piece?

28. SGScott Galloway4:19

    And then-

29. KSKara Swisher4:19

    It was disturbing on every level.

30. SGScott Galloway4:22

    Yeah, the end- the ending-

Episode duration: 11:41