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| - A real photo shows Hegseth wearing only swim trunks — not underwear — after participating in a fundraiser on the Hudson River to swim from New Jersey to New York City in 2020.
In December 2024, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump nominated Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, many dug into the former Fox News host's past, including disturbing sexual assault allegations against him. One purported photograph of Hegseth also went viral, in which he seemed to be wearing only underwear while standing next to the Sept. 11 Memorial in New York City.
An X user wrote, "Pete Hegseth was in his underwear at the 9/11 Memorial. It looks like it was a chilly afternoon."
The above photograph is indeed real, though Hegseth was not wearing underwear. He shared this photograph on his verified Instagram account in August 2020 when he participated in a swimming event for Navy SEALS and wore swim trunks for the occasion. As such, we rate this claim as false.
On Aug. 9, 2020, Hegseth shared a series of pictures of when he was reporting for Fox News on a swim event on the Hudson River. The last picture in the series shows Hegseth placing a small flag on the memorial, while holding a larger American flag. It is apparent that the man in the photograph is Hegseth because the tattoos on his right arm match the tattoos in other Instagram pictures where his face is more visible.
The caption states: "A few pictures from this year's @gigofund SEAL Swim across the Hudson. Amazing day! Thanks for all the @foxandfriends viewers who sent in photos."
(Instagram user @petehegseth)
The event Hegseth was reporting on was the 2020 Navy SEAL Swim on the Hudson River. Hegseth also participated in the same swim event in 2019. According to a Fox News clip from the event:
Fox News' Pete Hegseth and the participating Navy SEALs jump into the Hudson River at Liberty State Park to start the 2020 SEAL Swim.
Pete and the SEALs swam across the Hudson River for the second year in a row to honor America and our veterans, and to raise funds for GI Go Fund as they work to support military families in need.
A video of the event from Fox News can be seen below:
The event also took place in August 2024 and followed the same route, starting at Liberty State Park in New Jersey and ending at the World Trade Center in New York. According to the event FAQs, the swim was open to all participants, including Navy SEALS, active duty military, reservists, veterans, and civilians.
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