California Governor Gavin Newsom has ripped into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his joyride in an army helicopter with MAGA musician Kid Rock.
Hegseth, 45, and Rock, 55, rode shotgun in two Apache helicopters that left the Army airbase in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on Monday. While the Apaches usually have two pilots, they left one behind to accommodate both MAGA passengers, Dropsite News reported.
The Pentagon confirmed the flights were filmed for Kid Rock’s upcoming “Freedom 250″ tour and to mark America’s 250th birthday on July 4.
Newsom’s Press Office account called out the optics of the helicopter ride during a cost of living crisis on Monday. “Why are taxpayers paying to fly Kid Rock around on $100 million helicopters?”
The Press Office account then trolled the pair with an unflattering AI-generated photo posted on Tuesday. The image depicts Hegseth in a helicopter with a bottle of Jack Daniels, looking worse for wear, with his name badge reading “SECDEF...SORTA.” A sign on the second chopper reads, “I ❤️ waste, fraud and abuse.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
The image appears to tap into claims of Hegseth’s complicated history with alcohol. A December 202024 report by the New Yorker claimed Hegseth drank on the job at Concerned Veterans for America, the nonprofit he led between 2013 and 2015.
“I’ve seen him drunk so many times,” one source told the publication. “I’ve seen him dragged away not a few times but multiple times.” The report claims Hegseth drank to the point he had passed out at family gatherings and ordered three gin and tonics at a weekday breakfast meeting in 2023.
Hegseth acknowledged he was “not a perfect person but redemption is real” during a Senate confirmation hearing in January 2025, ahead of taking on his Pentagon role. He labeled the claims of alcohol abuse in the New Yorker during his time at CVA as “anonymous smears.”
After Monday’s helicopter ride, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told the Daily Beast, “Today, Army helicopters operated in the National Capital Region in support of a Freedom 250th community relations event.”
“As a part of that event, Robert ‘Kid Rock’ Ritchie participated in multiple troop touches with service members and filmed videos for Memorial Day, America’s 250th birthday, and for his Freedom 250 tour.”
The musician has pledged 1,000 free tickets to military members and veterans on his “Freedom 250″ tour, which has 10 dates between May 1 and June 20.
Hegseth’s post also shared an image of Kid Rock addressing the Pentagon on Monday, though it is unclear what he was discussing.
Kid Rock and Gavin Newsom have regularly traded insults online, including the Press Office threatening to take away his residency last August, calling the musician “A THREAT TO CALIFORNIA’S EARDRUMS.”
Last month, two AH-64 Apache helicopters showed up above Kid Rock’s residence in Tennessee.
The singer filmed the incident, including him saluting the pilots, posting it on his social media with the caption, “This is a level of respect that s--t for brains Governor of California will never know. God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her.”
The singer’s post prompted the army to launch an investigation into the incident, which resulted in the suspension of the pilots involved. Hegseth overturned that decision hours later.
“Pilots suspension LIFTED,” Hegseth posted on X at the time. “No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.”
