This Pete Hegseth Moment Is Going Viral For Being Really, Really Gross

Wed, August 12, 2026 at 4:23 PM UTC

A man stands attentively behind a seated man speaking, inside an official setting with flags in the background

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Shocker: Pete Hegseth is in the news for doing something gross.The Secretary of Defense was spotted in the back of a video wiping his nose and rubbing it through his hair.

Three people in formal attire are in a room with flags and an emblem in the background

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Here’s the clip, if you feel obliged to see it:

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Ohhhh…

A person in a suit wipes their mouth while standing in front of a group in a formal setting

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That’s not…it.

I don't know who this is, but the image shows a person in a suit adjusting their hair, with others standing in the background

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Yeah, so, that’s gross, but people have brought up something even stranger.

Illustration of a cartoon hand wrapped in a pink rubber band with a band-aid on one finger, partially covered in paint spots

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In 2019, he said he hadn’t washed his hands in 10 years.

Screenshot of a tweet by Michelle Kinney: "This is a man who does not wash anythiiing." The tweet includes a BBC article headline about a Fox host claiming he hasn't washed his hands in 10 years

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Nick Turse at the Intercept confirmed that the article was, in fact, real (lol).

Screenshot of a BBC article headline stating a Fox host claims not to have washed his hands in 10 years

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Hegseth spoke about his handwashing habits on Fox in 2019:

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“I don’t think I’ve washed my hands for 10 years,” he said.

A person is attentively listening, dressed in a business suit with short hair, during what appears to be a formal event or meeting

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“I inoculate myself. Germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them, therefore, they’re not real.”

Person in a pale suit with a striped tie is standing, appearing thoughtful, in front of a blurred official seal on a wooden wall

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NICE.

Person in a suit speaking energetically, gesturing with hands, with flags in the background

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Pete would later tell USA Today he was joking: “We’re on a show and we have fun and we banter and I’m like, eh, you know, maybe I haven’t washed my hands for 10 years.”

A man in a suit gestures while speaking at a conference table, with others seated nearby. Presidential seal is visible in the background

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He explained, “My half-hearted commentary to the point is, we live in a society where people walk around with bottles of Purell in their pockets, and they sanitize 19,000 times a day as if that’s going to save their life. I take care of myself and all that, but I don’t obsess over everything all the time.”