Secretary Pete Hegseth Reflects on Faith and Charlie Kirk's Legacy One Month After His Death

[00:00] Uh we're at one month since uh the

[00:03] assassination of our friend Charlie

[00:04] Kirk. Uh I want to get two thoughts from

[00:07] you closing out. One, your thoughts one

[00:09] month out from that. And two, you get a

[00:11] lot of criticism from bringing in your

[00:13] faith back into this role, which I think

[00:16] is insanity. Just talk to us a little

[00:18] bit real quick your thoughts about

[00:20] Charlie one month since and then why do

[00:22] you feel it's so important to bring your

[00:24] faith back into this position?

[00:25] >> Well, like you sometimes it still

[00:26] doesn't feel real, right? You see you

[00:28] see videos and things that are still

[00:30] played and you go, "Oh, oh man, can't."

[00:33] >> Um, but isn't Charlie the perfect

[00:35] example of someone who brought his faith

[00:37] into the public square and did it

[00:39] boldly, unapologetically

[00:41] uh in a way that met people where

[00:42] they're at? Wasn't preachy, was simply

[00:45] saying, "You want to really be set free?

[00:46] The gospel sets you free." Not not a

[00:49] policy from the government. Uh, and so

[00:51] our job here is to, you know, is to

[00:53] ensure that we are ready to deter and if

[00:55] necessary, win our nation's wars. We

[00:56] know that. But a huge part of readiness

[00:58] is spiritual readiness as well. Uh this

[01:01] is a department. This is a job that has

[01:03] long appealed to heaven on bended knee.

[01:06] Uh you know that guy right there said a

[01:09] few prayers before he set out.

[01:10] Absolutely.

[01:10] >> Uh to try to to establish a new nation.

[01:13] We were founded with that understanding

[01:15] that our rights come from a creator.

[01:17] >> Uh and so not only should we hide it, we

[01:20] we shouldn't be ashamed of it. We should

[01:22] speak boldly about it. We should speak

[01:23] openly about it. That's why we do a

[01:25] monthly Christian worship service.

[01:27] That's why, you know, wherever we can,

[01:29] we invoke the name of God. We invoke the

[01:31] name of Jesus Christ. And we want that

[01:33] spoken and talked about inside our

[01:35] formations. We want our chaplain

[01:36] empowered. Uh because what we're doing

[01:39] here is is yes, in an earthly sense

[01:42] incredibly consequential, but there's

[01:43] also a spiritual battlefield. Uh and

[01:46] there's our own, you know, eternity and

[01:48] our own souls. And I know as I reckon

[01:50] with this job in this place that you've

[01:52] been in here, you know, the decisions we

[01:53] make on a daily basis, uh impossible to

[01:56] do it as a as a as a human being alone,

[01:58] right?

[01:58] >> Uh but knowing that I'm serving God,

[02:01] obedient to his word, uh it humbles it

[02:04] humbles everybody. This job humbles you

[02:05] no matter what, right?

[02:06] >> Uh but humbled to understand that he's

[02:08] got a plan. Uh and God's out there and

[02:10] it's not me. and if I pray and appeal to

[02:13] him, hopefully his wisdom can be

[02:14] imparted on us uh on a daily basis to

[02:17] try to do right by this great American

[02:19] republic that we've been gifted. So

[02:21] Charlie set that example. He did it

[02:23] every single day. We miss him more every

[02:25] day almost when you when you see the

[02:27] void of his incredible talents,

[02:29] >> but may we live worthy of of his

[02:31] martyrdom. And I, you know, we've gotten

[02:34] some criticism for for um

[02:37] clamping down on folks that celebrated

[02:40] the death of Charlie Kirk at the Defense

[02:42] Department. Forget that. Who cares?

[02:44] >> Uh it was it's not about I mean, yes,

[02:47] Charlie Kirk was a beloved friend of

[02:48] ours, but no one in uniform should ever

[02:50] be celebrating the death of an American

[02:52] >> of an American citizen. That's the

[02:54] standard. It's an easy standard. The

[02:56] press will never report that. Uh they're

[02:59] never going to be honest about our

[03:00] motives, and that's fine. That's why I

[03:01] like talking why we can talk freely

[03:04] about this because we're not

[03:05] >> we're not imputing motives from the

[03:07] start.

[03:07] >> Uh and and as a result,

[03:11] we I think our force is more healthy

[03:12] when we're not going online criticizing

[03:15] the death of an American. Um but Charlie

[03:17] was incredible. He changed our lives. Uh

[03:19] and his legacy will live on uh far

[03:21] beyond