Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s obsession with his public image, including his bizarre demand for a makeup studio, has shaped his approach to Pentagon communications, according to his former spokesman, John Ullyot.
While appearing on The Daily Beast Podcast, Ullyot told host Joanna Coles how Hegseth’s insistence on having his own makeup studio became emblematic of the chaos inside the Pentagon.
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“He’s very image-conscious. That’s why he’ll have those pocket squares; he wears this sort of light blue suit with the flag pocket squares… He’s very built on his image, and that probably helped him move up the ranks [at Fox News],” he explained, referencing Hegseth’s time as a co-host of Fox & Friends.
Ullyot explained that Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, has also been “helping him with that,” as has “Jennifer’s best friend,” another former Fox News producer.
According to Ullyot, it was Jennifer’s friend who approached him about installing a makeup studio at the Pentagon.
“She came to me and said, ‘Hey, we need to, Pete expects to have a makeup studio if he’s going to be talking to the media,’ and I said that was kind of weird. I’ve never known a secretary of defense to install a makeup studio, and I just thought that was crazy,” he recalled.
Hegseth is obsessed with his image, his former spokesperson details.
“It’s very strange,” Ullyot continued. “It’s contradictory because he talks about how he’s all about lethality and getting rid of wokeness, and now he wants to install a makeup studio in the office of the Pentagon. No defense secretary had ever done that, but that shows how image-conscious he was.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Ullyot said he rejected the makeup studio request three times, citing budget restrictions. The studio was eventually installed after his departure.
“Ironically, Pete Hegseth has used that briefing room less than probably any secretary in history because he… has a very adversarial approach with the press, kicked them out of the building, literally,” Ullyot said, referring to the Pentagon’s unprecedented press restrictions.
His wife, Jennifer, is very involved in Pentagon happenings, his former spokesperson details.
“It’s a farce. It’s a charade. But Mrs. Hegseth was clearly, in terms of stage managing him, I’m sure that she talked with him and said, ‘We need to get you a makeup studio,’” he said, adding that he thought it was “bonkers” and “completely contradictory to his message of lethality.”
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