Pete Hegseth to Host America’s Awards Show
By Emma Foley
Every year, more and more Americans skip out on Hollywood award season. Declining viewership numbers suggest that many wish to be spared the political preaching that has come to define these self-congratulatory pageants.
But tomorrow night at 7:00 PM CST, 8:00 PM EST in Nashville, “FOX & Friends Weekend” co-anchor Pete Hegseth will emcee a different kind of awards show. At the highly anticipated FOX Nation Patriot Awards, the veteran and familiar morning news face will recognize “real heroes” missed by mainstream culture. The event is close to Hegseth’s heart. He is about to be a messenger, sharing stories of American fortitude, service, and triumph with a country so desperately in need of them.
Hegseth will greet thousands of fans in the Grand Ole Opry House. An embodiment of the values celebrated by the show, Hegseth is the perfect candidate to host, a role he’s assumed for the past four years. In the iconic venue this year will sit Hegseth’s favorite audience: his wife Jennifer and their seven young children. The event is a treat for the kids, who get to stay up past their bedtime to watch, Hegseth tells me.
Hegseth has advocated for traditional Western education as a remedy to leftist indoctrination online, in entertainment, and in school.
“They’re awash in deception,” he tells The Conservateur.
Seeing these pernicious forces, Hegseth was moved to write his latest New York Times bestseller, Battle for the American Mind. He and his wife enroll their beautiful, blended family in classical Christian schools. It’s part of their goal to sow and strengthen a God-centric home.
“School is part of it— a huge part of it,” Hegseth explains. “With Classical Christian education, when you drop your kids off, you know that that place is not only not contrary to you but it’s reinforcing what you’re teaching, emphasizing it.”
Amid today’s moral confusion, he’s proud that he sends his children to swim in calm waters. And at home, Hegseth and his wife encourage a deeper relationship with God that goes beyond recitation of Bible verses. Their conversations around the dinner table are rich in history and fortified in faith, he says. He seeks to combine his children’s classroom experience with a church community and home life where virtue is pursued, so that his kids learn to love as Jesus does.
“Parenting is impossible,” Hegseth says. “You’re never going to be perfect. There’s a lot of faith and grace that goes into it. My wife and I came to a lot of these understandings over time.”
Both Pete and Jennifer work in demanding professions. But they’re still parents dedicated to building upstanding citizens hungry for God and goodness.
“I certainly don’t want [my children] ever to think, Dad’s job is more important than me. That’s a challenge for me,” Pete says, “because I travel from Tennessee to New York every weekend.”
But, he adds, “That’s so secondary to the enculturation of seven beautiful souls who are all different, yet all created in the image of God.”
Hegseth hopes his career will inspire his children to appreciate a fighting spirit, though “They might not watch ‘FOX & Friends’ wall-to-wall,” he chuckles.
At every Christmas and Easter, the family sits down to view FOX Nation’s Life of Jesus specials, the semi-annual miniseries where Pete and his pastor retrace the steps of Christ in the Holy Land. Hegseth wants his kids to take in the Gospel account and see him underscoring its importance.
Hosting the Patriot Awards is an awesome opportunity – but also a great responsibility. As a father, to be a voice for young families; as a veteran, to be a champion for military members current and retired; as an American, to be a mouthpiece for truth.
“There’s worth in doing things well,” Hegseth asserts. “If I’m not willing to speak truth without equivocation, without hesitation, then a teacher, a nurse, a firefighter, a line worker—how are they, in this culture, supposed to do that?”
Hegseth promises Thursday night will be an unforgettable evening highlighting the duty, honor, and fidelity to country of six everyday Americans. In this era in which trophies and accolades are misappropriated to the undeserving, it’s no wonder audiences are fleeing. That’s why the ratings of conventional awards shows are “in the tank,” he says.
“What I think we’ve revived with the Patriot Awards is the exact opposite of this poisoned ethos,” he notes.
FOX’s version is what an awards show should look like, Hegseth affirms. The production team has spared no effort to make the night spectacular and meaningful. Unlike many honorees of the Grammys or the Emmys, none of these heroes looked for the spotlight.
“The point of the Patriot Awards is to highlight what they did in quiet, or when no one was looking, or without recognition—to demonstrate that those things have real value in our society, especially when those things are under complete assault,” Hegseth says.
FOX News firebrands Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters, and Laura Ingraham will join him on stage. By the end, Hegseth guarantees, viewers will know and love the stories of six great Americans.
Emma Foley is the Digital Managing Editor for the Howie Carr Radio Network. She grew up in Pennsylvania, but after graduating from Boston College, she decided to make Massachusetts her new home. Follow her @emmafoleymedia
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