Hegseth's Ex-Spokesman Calls Him a 'Fox News Fire-Breather' Who's 'Damaging' Trump and the Republican Brand

Pete Hegseth's former chief spokesman has urged him to resign, saying the Defence Secretary is 'damaging the president's brand' and should get 'off the stage'.

John Ullyot, who left the Pentagon early in Donald Trump's second term, said Hegseth was unfit for the job and should resign if he was truly loyal to the president.

Ullyot Calls on Hegseth to Step Aside

Ullyot made the remarks in a Saturday interview with Antonia Hylton on MS NOW, Mediaite reported.

'You'd get off the stage if you were truly loyal to President Donald Trump,' he said. 'You'd serve the president best if you got off the stage.'

He argued Hegseth lacked the military background, management experience and temperament for the role. 'He could've run the presidential physical fitness council, like Arnold Schwarzenegger did, that would've been a perfect fit,' Ullyot said. 'But to run the department of defense is a very serious job, and he didn't take a serious approach.'

'He is very much damaging the president's brand, no question about it, and the Republican brand,' he added.

Blaming the Iran War

Ullyot linked his criticism to the Iran war, which House Republicans singled out as a top target of their anger after the midterms, Axios reported. He also invoked Vice President JD Vance's comments about the war and the party's defeat.

'Well, who's at the helm of that war? Who's responsible for getting our munitions stockpiles, and giving the best advice to the president?' Ullyot asked. 'It's a guy named Pete Hegseth, and he's never done anything like that. He's somebody who should have taken himself out.'

Ullyot said that if reports are true that Hegseth was the top 'cheerleader' for the war, it was clear to him that he must quit.

Former Spokesman Repeats Criticism on CNN

The MS NOW interview followed a similar broadside on CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront on Tuesday. Speaking hours after the House voted to refer an impeachment resolution against Hegseth to committee, Ullyot said his former boss 'looked like a Fox News fire breather, frankly, or a cable news fire breather who is trying to get a point across', Raw Story reported.

'He makes it about himself, not about the troops,' Ullyot said, adding that 'the president deserves better than that'. He said Trump 'doesn't need this headache' and does not fully grasp 'how much of a drag' Hegseth has become. He also called Hegseth 'bombastic', arguing he should have toned down his approach at a combative press conference earlier that day.

Ullyot also predicted Hegseth will 'eventually' be impeached, The Independent reported. The House voted 211 to 204 on 10 November to send Rep. Thomas Massie's impeachment resolution to committee, Stars and Stripes reported.

A Marine Corps veteran and former National Security Council spokesman, Ullyot left the Pentagon in April 2025 after a short stint as chief spokesman. He said he chose to go, while a senior defence official told the Associated Press at the time that Hegseth's office had asked him to resign. He then wrote a Politico piece accusing Hegseth of 'strange and baffling' purges and of causing severe 'dysfunction'.

He has since published a book, The President Deserves Better, which criticises Hegseth and other officials. Politico has reported that Ullyot himself signed the memo that reassigned Pentagon workspaces from long-standing media outlets to conservative ones such as Breitbart and One America News Network, The Independent noted.