In June 2026, a claim (archived) circulated online that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he hasn't washed his hands in 10 years because he doesn't believe in germs.
For example, one X user shared a video of Hegseth making the alleged comment, along with the caption (translated from Spanish to English):
Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of War, confessed that he hasn't washed his hands in 10 years because he doesn't believe in germs. Now, as the person in charge of the US army, he removed the mandatory flu vaccines... and two months later, 160 soldiers at an Air Force base in Texas have contracted the flu.
The X user was referring to reports in mid-June 2026 that nearly
The alleged quote by Hegseth about handwashing and germs circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and Threads (archived). Snopes readers searched our site for information about it.
The claim was true, though Hegseth later told USA Today he was joking.
Hegseth made the remark during a Feb. 10, 2019, appearance on "Fox & Friends" with co-hosts Jedediah Bila and Ed Henry, according to video evidence and reporting by reputable news outlets.
Per a video published by the YouTube account NewscastStudio, Hegseth said, "I don't think I've washed my hands for 10 years. Really, I don't, I don't really wash my hands, ever." Bila and Henry laughed. Hegseth then said, "I inoculate myself. It's just not — germs are not a real thing. I can't see them, therefore, they are not real."
(We could not locate other videos of the February 2019 appearance. NewscastStudio's clip appeared genuine and did not indicate any signs of possible manipulation.)
We contacted Hegseth's Defense Department to independently verify he meant the remarks in jest. We await a reply.
In an interview with USA Today shortly after the segment aired, Hegseth reportedly said the comment was a joke calling out people who "obsess" over germs. The outlet published:
[...] Hegseth says it should have been obvious that he was joking. "We're on a show and we have fun and we banter and I'm like, eh, you know, maybe I haven't washed my hands for 10 years," he told USA TODAY. "If you look at Ed and Jedediah's reaction, they are laughing like we are (on) every show."
Hegseth says the joke is a call-out to germ obsessors to lighten up. "My half-hearted commentary to the point is, we live in a society where people walk around with bottles of Purell in their pockets, and they sanitize 19,000 times a day as if that's going to save their life," he said. "I take care of myself and all that, but I don't obsess over everything all the time."
Around the same time, MSNBC host Chris Hayes replied to a video of the "Fox & Friends" segment on X (then Twitter), writing (archived), "he's....pretty clearly joking?" According to USA Today, Hegseth shared Hayes' post, writing, "When even @chrislhayes can see the obvious...Twitter really has come full circle." (Hegseth seemingly deleted his post, but we independently verified Hayes' using an archived page.)
Hegseth made the comment roughly one year before the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., during which public health officials encouraged frequent handwashing, among other measures like social distancing, to prevent the spread of the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, handwashing with soap is "one of the best ways to stay healthy," especially after using the toilet, preparing food or spending time with people who are sick. If you do not have access to running water or soap, the CDC recommends using hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol to clean your hands.
— Snopes' archives contributed to this report.