Pete Hegseth, nominated by Donald Trump for Secretary of Defense, faced accusations that he was not accepted into West Point, as initially claimed by the academy.
In fact, Hegseth was accepted to West Point but did not attend. Instead, he went to Princeton University, where he graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. After Princeton, he joined the Army National Guard through ROTC, serving in various roles including deployments to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Hegseth preemptively countered the accusations by sharing his 1999 acceptance letter on social media.
ProPublica had been investigating this claim but decided not to publish after Hegseth provided evidence of his acceptance.
West Point later admitted there was an “administrative error” and apologized for the misinformation, confirming Hegseth was indeed offered admission to the Class of 2003.
This incident has sparked discussions about the accuracy of information from public institutions, such as the West Point academy, and the motives behind such errors.
We understand that ProPublica (the Left Wing hack group) is planning to publish a knowingly false report that I was not accepted to West Point in 1999.
Here’s my letter of acceptance signed by West Point Superintendent, Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, US Army. pic.twitter.com/UOhOVZSfhJ
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) December 11, 2024