U.S. Senate candidate John James has built his political career with help from Fox News and host Pete Hegseth, including going on his Fox & Friends program and appearing with him at a GOP fundraiser, where James called him “one of the best in the business.” Hegseth is an anti-Muslim bigot who has warned followers about the Muslim birth rate in states like Michigan; criticized the election of Muslims to public office; and praised President Donald Trump’s call for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
James is a Republican and frequent Fox News guest who is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in Michigan, a state with one of the largest Muslim American populations in the country.
Hegseth is a co-host of Fox & Friends’ weekend edition. He is an influential pro-Trump voice who has lobbied Trump to pardon people convicted of war crimes. Hegseth himself has endorsed committing war crimes.
Hegseth and James appeared together at a May 24, 2018, fundraiser for the Livingston County Republican Committee in Michigan. James introduced Hegseth and touted his own appearances on Fox & Friends and praised Hegseth as “one of the best in the business” and someone who stands as a “beacon of truth at the vanguard of our First Amendment.”
Following the event, he tweeted: “PUMPED to have FOX & Friends Weekend host and fellow combat veteran @PeteHegseth with us at the @LivingstonGOPVC Lincoln Day Dinner!”