Pete Hegseth and Ainsley Earhardt co-host a talk show© John Lamparski/Getty Images

Former Fox News host and current U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth got called out by his former colleagues for a gross habit in an April 2025 episode of “Outnumbered.” On a clip from the show posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Fox News co-hosts tested out a long-held theory that food is fine to eat after it drops on the floor, as long as it’s picked up within five seconds — aka “the 5-second rule.”

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To the absolute disgust of his fellow coworkers, Joe Concha dropped a peeled banana onto the floor, waited five seconds, then ate it, as Ainsley Earhardt, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Lara Trump freaked out and voiced their disapproval. Trump even noted how “everyone’s feet have been on this [floor].” Earhardt piggybacked off that sentiment and pointed out how they all “walk around New York City,” implying their shoes’ soles bring in who knows what kind of germs.

After Campos-Duffy joked that Concha was gunning to be the next Hegseth, Earhardt recalled a time she saw the U.S. Secretary of Defense drop a bagel schmear-side down, and still eat it off the floor without hesitation. Earhardt, letting her shady side out, said she asked Hegseth, “Wait, is there any hair on there?” adding how the whole thing was super repulsive. Better add this bagel story to Hegseth’s growing list of scandals that rocked his reputation.

Pete Hegseth Reportedly Has Another Nasty Habit


Pete Hegseth looks off to the side© Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Joe Concha also brought up during that clip the speculation that Pete Hegseth uses the restroom and then skips handwashing. Ainsley Earhardt confirmed that the Secretary of Defense even admitted so on TV. Odd thing to confess to in front of millions of people, but you do you, Pete. While Concha looked horrified, Earhardt just shrugged it off and chalked it up to his military days.

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Back in 2019, Hegseth overshared on “Fox and Friends Sunday” and said, “I don’t think I’ve washed my hands for 10 years” (via YouTube). Weird flex, bro. He dug a deeper hole by also claiming, “I can’t see [germs], therefore they’re not real.” Centuries’ worth of science disproves Hegseth’s claim, so he’s letting his shady side out to play against scientists with that declaration.

Comments on X agreed with Earhardt, Concha, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Lara Trump about how gross Hegseth’s dropped food and lack of hand-washing behaviors were. “The Sec Def not washing his hands after going to the bathroom is even worse. He’s eating bagels encrusted with whatever’s on the floor AND his own [body waste],” bluntly tweeted one user. Another person joked, “Everything bagel with extra everything.”