♪ ♪ >> this is it, the first ever fox nation "patriot awards." >> celebrating the unsung heroes.

>> those who make our country great. >> are you ready? >> welcome to the first ever fox nation "patriot awards." >> please welcome your host for the evening, pete hegseth. >> hello, fox nation! [applause] my goodness. god bless america. hello, my fellow patriots. welcome. yes! welcome to the very first fox nation "patriot awards." my name is pete hegseth and i will be your host for the next hour. now i just walked the red carpet where normally they ask the questions, who are you wearing?

well, they did not ask me that question tonight but i'm going to tell you who i am wearing anyway. [applause] i'm telling you, this award show will be unlike anything you've ever seen and we couldn't be more excited to bring it to you live right here in st. petersburg, florida. wow. they call it saint pete's, rig right? sainst. pete, a nickname nobodys ever given me ever. now here is the deal. hollywood has their awards shows, right? self-important -- [audience building]

self-important, self-important types giving awards to other self-important types. big trophies given to actors who play heroes on tv. tonight, we honor the real heroes. [applause] this is the oscars of what really matters. tonight, we are honoring inspirational americans who didn't seek the spotlight and never expected to be recognized. everyday patriots who have done exceptional things for our great nation, because america is the most free, most powerful, and most prosperous country in human history. [applause] amen. because of patriots of every generation who have been willing to step up in ways large and

small to fight for her, the patriot awards will showcase powerful examples of patriotism that deserve to be celebrated. please join me now, we are trying real hard, and welcoming our first presenter of the night, country music superstar and owner of redneck riviera, the one, the only john rich! [applause] >> hey, guys. thanks pete. tonight is my honor to present the awards for veterans and service. a veteran might be someone you pass on the street, might work at a factory, you might own a restaurant in your hometown peer there the back bone of our communities and the reason we walk free in this country today. [applause] the sacrifices and legacy they

leave behind will stand for generations to come. ten years after one of the worst days in american history. mission barbecue opened its dooo remind everyone what makes our country great and what makes our country's great are its heroes. am i right? it's our heroes. [applause] every day they proudly serve one of my favorite things in the world being a texan, barbecue, baby. i love me some barbecue. and they honor those who have served. at 1200 hours, everyone rises and stands as one to owner our great country. ♪ >> anthem up. >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, in honor of our country, as we do every day at noon, with the singing of our

national anthem. >> if you really want to experience mission barbecue at its best, come join us at 12 noon. [singing national anthem] >> the kitchen comes to a stop. but it's so very important for us to take that moment for us to remember what that flag stands for. >> i think the first time seeing that and being therefore it brought tears to my eyes. it was one of those, i need to be here. >> when you hear people singing and see people crying, your reminded people do care. it does matter. >> we serve food to say thanks. extend a handshake, thanks for what you do. >> appreciate your service. >> we want to continue to build the places where people can feel good. ♪ for the land of the free ♪ in the home of the brave

>> there's a lot of ways to serve. we choose to do our part. [cheers and applause] >> pete: tonight's award for veteran service goes to mission barbecue. please welcome to the stage one of the cofounders, ladies and gentlemen. congratulations. well-deserved. yes, sir. bill, congratulations. tell america why it's so important for you and your business to support our country like you do. >> on behalf of my business partner, steve dugan, and are over 4,000 teammates, we are proud and humble to get to do what we do.

the mission at mission barbecue is deserve, honor, and thank our american heroes. we do so with pride, we do so humbly, and we consider it a privilege. >> god bless. round of applause. [applause] >> thank you for all you do. in fact, i was backstage. i wear remembrance bracelet like a lot of you do to remember someone who was lost on the battlefield. bill stopped me backstage and said, connect me with his wife because i want to make sure that one of his memory is honored at one of our barbecue locations. what an amazing man. [applause] as you know, the proceeds from tonight's event go to folds of honor. [applause] join me for welcoming "fox & friends" hosts, peter doocy, brian kilmeade.

[applause] >> i thought it was over there. is it not over there? i was like -- that's right. >> that's how we are. >> hey, everyone. >> good morning! >> by the way, you know we've been up a while. we all had to shape to get ready for this. we've been up since 2:30 in the morning. not you. i'm going to do something we rarely do. i'm going to go back to the prompter in the morning. some common qualities shared amongst many patriots are dedication and inspiration and tonight, we honor a veteran who endlessly embodies both. we are here tonight to give the award for mvp, most valuable patriot. >> that is exactly right. for next recipient it has never been about the award of recognition, it is about the relentless fight and encouraging

fellow veterans to never give up. history is right here. >> i'm saunter's sergeant rob jones. i was in the process of trying to clear a dangerous area of iuds. and an iud found me first and that resulted in double above knee amputations. ♪ >> i realized pretty quickly that just because i was missing my legs above the knee now that didn't mean my life's mission had changed. ♪ i still want to my life to be something i could be proud of. i wanted my life to be something that made a difference in the world. i was able to go to the

paralympics in 2012 and win a bronze medal in rowing. i was able to win 2013 ant '14 ride my bike's from maine to san diego. in 2017 i was able to run 31 marathons in 31 different cities and i did all of that to show that no matter what your circumstance is, veterans can stay in the fight. the support i got from my loved ones was kind of an unspoken thing. when i first got injured, they were there to support me no matter what. with their support i was able to stay positive and not give up. i kind of set a precedent for myself of being positive and keeping on a mission and staying healthy. >> ron took the final steps of his marathon journey on veterans day in 2017. his efforts raised over $200,000 for wounded veteran charities.

>> just because a veteran is wounded in some way doesn't mean they are broken or unable to contribute to society still. that is what gets me out of bed in the morning even when it starts to hurt. [applause] >> so tonight's most valuable patriot award goes to marine corps sergeant rob jones. [cheers and applause] >> congratulations, man. >> good to see you all again t too. >> thank you for your service. >> thank you. [applause]

>> rob, the country is inspired by you, your story, the one you just saw, how did the rob jones we are looking at today, i was your life different from the rob jones if you have both your legs coming out of the work? >> i tell you what, i can't really tell you. if i hadn't been wounded i might have been killed the next day by a sniper's bullet or i might've stepped on another iud and been killed there. it's hard to answer that question, but what i've done is just accept whatever situation i have and just move forward with what i can effect, and that is what i'm going to do now. >> 31 marathons in 31 days in 31 cities. how close were you to you to saying you know what, 28 was enough? >> [laughs] i think a lot of people have asked me that. but as far as i'm concerned, if you're going to do something like that you've got to take it to the maximum. i didn't want anyone to be able

to say "but" afterwards. you did a full marathon, but you could've done 31. >> how did you do that question worked most of us can do one marathon. were you when pain? >> i was for most of us. it hurt a lot. especially the last one. but it starts with a good team and i've had teams of people helping me throughout my entire life. all the way from the marine corps. i had my brother is with me and after i got wounded i had medical staff and my family and then my friends, coaches, people like that. my wife and my mom were there so i had a good team behind me and then had a lot of preparation. took me 18 months of training to get ready for it and that i just had a great purpose in creating a story about veterans that we could all use. >> you had a great story. ladies and gentlemen, this man, rob jones. [applause] >> announcer: when we come back, the award for unsung hero.

>> she is the fox nation host of the very bendable shows, if you like binge watching.

"parked" and ride to work. you see what it's like to date there daily commute, and a legendary hall of fame inspirational coach, hall of fame college coach. you know him and love him, please welcome to the stage, abby hornacek and lou holtz. [applause] >> thank you, pete. we are here to give out the unsung hero award. i've set up affordable say it again, i can't believe i've put us on this earth to be ordinary and the young man we are about to introduce to you is truly extraordinary. >> you're right, this is a young man who would make any parent proud. we would like you to meet 14-year-old charlie from

chesapeake, virginia. >> a lot of people have fought and died for our country in combat and flying an american flag is a good way to respect them. >> not a lot of people were flying the flag. >> we are trying to get people to hang or fly american flags outside of their homes to say thank you to the people who are giving back to their communities. >> how can you inspire people to fly a flag? well, if you can give them a little bit of a discount on when that might inspire them. >> i didn't expect anyone to take it seriously. i was very surprised that this many people actually went to lowe's and bought a flag. there were maybe four or five flags before i came out here and others pretty much a flag on every single house. >> we 100% want to support the military. i want to support this kid and

his project. no questions asked, what can i do to help? >> you can't beat it. something that makes everybody feel good. >> charlie's father believes the special appreciation to serve the men and women who serve this country come from. >> i can be more impressed with charlie what he's doing with this patriotism project. as an officer in the navy, who wouldn't be proud of their son going door-to-door and asking theithem to put up american fla. he understands he wants to be part of a project bigger than himself, and that is the step one in the making of a patriot. >> i don't feel like much of a hero, i just like spreading patriotism as much as i can. [applause] >> tonight award for unsung hero

goes to charlie. please welcome to the stage, charlie and his father, commander dave hecht. [applause] >> congratulations, sir. >> charlie, congratulations. as fathers we always want our children to have things we never had when we were younger like a letter as on our report card and you are a straight-a student but i've also said this, if what you did yesterday did bake then you haven't done much today. one of the other plans you have for the future quest make you want to tell the people? >> yeah. i put a much carried this

project all the way to the end so my next project is going to be trying to get commercial movie theaters to try to play the national anthem before every movie. [applause] >> thank you so much for your service and thank you so much for raising such a remarkable young man. charlie, congratulations. >> thank you. >> if you're like me you're sitting back and thinking, charlie and his father exist to make the rest of us feel like we are inadequate parents. god bless that kid. charlie, thank you for making it your mission to spread patriotism house by house and block by block. what an amazing story. >> this is a fox news alert. president trump and the first lady just arriving at their new year's eve party at mar-a-lago. the president is going to be addressing the media in place right now.

let's take you there live. >> happy new year, happy new year. we're going to have a great year i predict. we had the best economic year in our country's history. and i think we are really set for additional growth and jobs and everything else. it will be great. >> reporter[reporter question] >> i think it's been handled really well. the marines came in and did a fantastic job. they were there instantaneously. as soon as we heard. they came immediately, and it's in great shape. as you know, this will not be a benghazi benghazi should never have happened. this will never, ever be a benghazi. we have some of our greatest warriors there. they got in very quickly. as soon as we saw there was potential for problem, they got in and there was no problem whatsoever. i also want to thank the iraqi

government. they really stepped up. i spoke to the prime minister today, i thank him. but they stepped up very nicely. [reporter question] >> i don't think that would be a good idea for a run. that wouldn't last very long. do i want to? no. a rand should watch that more than anybody. i don't see that happening. i don't think iran would want that happening. [reporter question] >> we'll see. i have a very good relationship with kim jong un. i know that he is sending out certain messages about christmas president and i hope is present is a beautiful vase. as opposed to something else. he likes me, i like him, we get along. he is representing his country,

we will do what we have to do. but we did sign a contract, talking about denuclearization. that was the number one sentence. denuclearization that was done in singapore, and i think he is a man of his words and we will find out what i think he is a man of his word. [reporter question] >> well, the impeachment thing is a big fat hoax. we had 196-0 with the republicans. we had three democrats come over. one actually joined our party, as you know, which i think is a record. i don't think that is been done before in terms of someone coming in like that on a vote like that but he joined our party from new jersey. it's going to be fantastic. no, i look forward to it. we will see. we have absolutely -- we did nothing wrong. all you have to do is read the transcripts. if you read the transcripts, or

you could do something else. you could go see or speak to the president of ukraine. as the president of ukraine said loudly and boldly and i appreciate the statement he said many times, there was no pressure. the foreign minister of ukraine said there was absolutely no pressure. that is the whole case right there. no pressure whatsoever. i do say two things. we have to check corruption and we also have to find out why is it that the united states is always giving foreign countries money, as germany and france and all of europe, they are not doing much. in fact, they are not doing anything relative to this. why is it always the united states? i've been asking you those questions and making those statements for a long time to everybody standing here. nobody ever mentions that. that was part of it. in fact, that is in the transcript also. i spoke to a very good woman, to

be honest with you. chancellor merkel. where is chancellor merkel, where is the president of france? why aren't they putting up money customer why is it always the united states? nobody covers that and that is a big factor. i think it's going to go very quick, very easy. we have tremendous and i have to say we have a tremendous republican support. what the democrats did in the house was a disgraceful. how unfair it was, we didn't get lawyers, we didn't have witnesses, we didn't do anything and still, we got 100% of the republican votes and it was bipartisan because we got three democrats. i think the impeachment thing, i call it impeachment light. it's a disgrace. nancy pelosi should be ashamed of herself. she is a highly overrated person. i know her well. she is highly overrated. [reporter questions] >> we are going to be announcing it very shortly. some people already know about

what we are doing. we have to protect our families. at the same time, it's a big industry, we want to protect the industry. as you know, we've been picking it up for a period of time. were going to protect our families, were going to protect our children, and were going to protect the industry. hopefully americans are going to be going very quickly back onto the market. they're going to come off, the going to be checked, people died from this. we think we understand why but we're doing a very exhaustive examination and hopefully everything will be back to the market very, very shortly. this can be good from the standpoint if you look at the e-cigarettes. you stop smoking. if you can stop smoking, that's a big advantage. we think we are going to get back in the market very, very quickly but we have to protect the children, we have to protect the families. at the same time, we have a very big industry.

were going to take care of the industry. [reporter questions] >> i don't really care. it doesn't really matter. as far as i'm concerned i will be happy with the trial because we did nothing wrong. we didn't even have a witness and we won 196-0. we didn't even have a witness. that was all the democrats witnesses. adam schiff is a corrupt politician. he is corrupt. he got up, made a speech, said something i never said and when i release the transcript, which is absolutely a perfect, totally appropriate conversation with a very good man, a very good president, doing a great job, but a big reason he got elected was corruption. tremendous corruption. the other thing, and again i ask, why aren't other countries, germany, france, and others, why aren't they putting up money like we put up? i ask that question. not only about ukraine, about a lot of other places. i was able to get recently at

nato, and you have to speak to the secretary general, $530 billion additionally over a very short period of time. all hundred $30 billion immediately. he has never seen anything like that. that is nato. this is something different. those countries should be putting up money. they should also be giving to ukraine. one more question. [reporter questions] >> for trade we are very excited about trade. the china deal will be signed probably on january 15th. we put out a notice today and i will be going at some point to beijing to be with president g. we have a great relationship and we will be doing something reciprocal, but i think more importantly we will be starting negotiations very soon on phase two and i think phase two can be complete. a lot of people said, you're going to have phase two, phase three customer i think we will have phase two actually competed

but we will be starting those negotiations very soon. i want to thank everybody, i want you to have a great year. your honorable people coming up to stay honorable. if you're honorable, i'm going to win the election by a lot. if you're not honorable, i'm just going to win the election by a little. i would rather have you be honorable, okay? thank you, thank you, good luck. >> reporter: happy new year. what is your goal for the new year? >> piece is right but i'm not sure you're supposed to say resolutions out loud, so i don't want to say what my resolution is because i think we will jinx it, all right? but i can tell you, we have a really good resolution for our country. we love our country. our country has never done better than it is doing right now. we have the best unemployment numbers. we have the best employment numbers.

almost 160 million people are working. african-americans, asian-americans, hispanic-americans. the best numbers in the history of our country. we are very happy. and we've rebuilt our military, we've cut taxes down, the lowest in history. the biggest tax cut ever. were doing great. our country is really the talk of the world. everybody's talking about it. thank you. speak all right, you're watching live pictures there of the president and first lady melania trump heading into their new year's eve party at mar-a-l. the crowd cheering for them as they walk in. live pictures right here. the president stopping for a moment to talk to the press about a variety of issues and hitting a rock right off the top. of course, these remarks coming just hours after the president and the white house announcing that he is sending troops overseas in response to this morning's embassy attack in

iraq. we've got a statement from the secretary of defense, releasing a major development about the situation unfolding in iraq and in the statement he says the u.s. military will deploy 750 soldiers to that region immediately. those soldiers from the immediate response force of the 82nd airborne division. and according to esper, additional troops could also be sent over the next couple of days. as you know, this morning president trump tweeting in response to that embassy attack, they will pay a very dear price for this is not a warning, it is a threat. the president following up on those statements moments ago. the president says he has heard it was handled well and also that things are in great shape. and he reiterated that this will not be a benghazi.

the u.s. officials have been calling on iraqi leaders to step in and protect the embassy in baghdad and also to protect any and all u.s. personnel that are working overseas right now. the president echoing his statements, his tweets from earlier today after that attack at the embassy. the president thinking those comments again, as you saw there, as he walked into his new year's eve celebration. let's take you back out there live right now to white house correspondent kevin corke, who is live at the red carpet. what can you tell us about what the president just sent to the troops overseas? >> very interesting comments and i'm glad you alluded to that because we dove a circumstance where he has to be careful. there is obviously security but he was very proud, you could tell, but the job that they've

been able to do. they were issued orders, they got there on the job relatively quickly. he heard the president say that. and he also, i thought, was very careful to think his partners in a rock in terms of the leadership there. there's been a lot of discussion in terms of how exactly protesters were able to make their way into the green zone, which is typically a safe area and make their way all the way to the embassy. the president expressing his gratitude for the job done by the iraqi government and trying to tamp down what is obviously a powder keg of circumstance. the president has made his way in to his holiday party here tonight. >> cabin, this is a situation that has been developing since friday. back and forth and people have been waiting all day for what the next move was going to be from the u.s. do you read this as a defensive or offense of move? because esper said earlier in his statement, he is calling this appropriate and cautionary. is that being read as a defense move? >> i think you are right on the

money on that, and i also think it is important to point this out. whenever you're dealing with a circumstance like this, as you well know, it could go either way appeared this is a circumstance that could turn deadly almost immediately. for this is one that could be tamped down in relatively short order if the proper pressure is applied. that seemed to be the position the president was trying to give reporters here tonight as he talked about exactly what we have seen thus far taking place again over in iraq. i also think it is valid to point this out. there are a number of stakeholders in iraq. not just the u.s. but a number of stakeholders from all over the globe. it's incredibly important to keep things cool there because he could certainly turn into a proxy were pretty quick, and that is the last thing the global community would like to see. >> we will touch on this quick, we have to ask about impeachment because the president talked about this. ahead of 2020, this election year, what were his comments about impeachment?

>> he said he's looking forward to it as much as you can look forward to a trial, knowing that you have already been impeached by the house of representatives. the president remains defiant. he felt like this is a sham. he has set as much previously and echoed that again here tonight. he also said that he was incredibly impressed by the solidarity among republicans. if you've seen the g.o.p. in the last few years, sometimes in the big events you have a defector or two or sometimes three. they didn't have that this time and that he said should tell everybody that this will go quickly and he will be acquitted by the senate. speak all right, thanks so much. anything else that stuck out at you in regards to iran. i do remember the president saying "i want to have peace. i like peas." anything else that stuck out to your? >> he did not field a question, asking about a troop increase to

tamp down the danger we are obviously witnessing. the videos we have all been watching over the last several hours and he sort of avoided that. i do think that is interesting because operationally you don't want to necessarily tip your hand but as you probably heard mike pompeo, the secretary of state, say earlier tonight on fox news on "special report," all options remain on the table. >> kevin corke live for us in mar-a-lago is the president hosts his new year's eve party ahead of the new year. thanks so much, kevin. >> you bet. speak all right, let's just sum up for you what's been going on here. we saw life pictures and if we could turn them around for you, the president and first lady melania trump walking into their new year's eve bash down in mar-a-lago. taking some comments and making some questions from the press they are on a variety of issues, on some issues unfoldig

in iraq. just hours after the secretary of defense, mark esper, released a major statement about our next move. our next step in the iraq. part of that is deploying 750 soldiers immediately to that region. that statement read that this is a direction from president trump, that the u.s. military will be deploying 750 soldiers to that region. those soldiers coming from the immediate response of the 82nd division. additional troops could be sent there over the next couple of days and this is in response to that embassy attack in baghdad that happened just this morning. we are going to be following what happens in the next couple

of hours. let's listen into some sound that we just heard from president trump. let's listen to what he said just a few moments ago. >> this will not be a benghazi. benghazi should never have happened. this will never, ever be a benghazi. we have some of our greatest warriors there. they got in there very quickly. speak of the president also adding that he wants peace, that he likes peace and that this has been handled well. we will stay tuned to see what happens next but for now we will send it back to fox nation's "patriot awards."

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relief and remission i feelbusiness cards...new logo...outdoor sign. you always get me. now, get free 1 hour in-store pick up... ...at office depot officemax and officedepot.com. same time next week. yes! ♪ >> pete: i would like to ask all veterans, all active members of our military, and all first responders present in the crowd to please stand. [cheers and applause] holy cow!

>> pete: thank you. [cheers and applause] >> pete: thank you guys and gals. well, i would say that's about half the crowd. maybe this is the most secure location in america. >> announcer: when we come back, a message from the vice president of the united states. ♪

♪ >> pete: ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you a special message from a man who was in the situation room when al baghdadi was killed and serves our country every day, our vice president, mike pence. >> to my friends, to all the

american patriots gathered tonight from near and far, i'm vice president mike pence and it's my honor to participate in this first ever fox nation patriot awards. i really wish i could be with you tonight in st. petersburg, but i want you to know that we are with you in spirit as we honor six truly remarkable american spirit is happy to learn that the proceeds for tonight's event will provide help to the children and spouses of fallen members of our armed fortresses. that is truly inspiring and we thank you all. in behalf of president donald trump and my self, let me thank you all for tonight's patriot the word and for starting this tradition we look forward to many more years honoring heroes at the fox nation patriot awards. so god bless you. may god bless all heroes at home and abroad and may god continue

to bless the united states of america. >> announcer: when we come back, a performance by john rich. ♪

♪look into my eyes ♪you will see ♪what you mean to me ♪don't tell me it's not worth trying for♪ ♪you know it's true ♪everything i do ♪i do it for you ♪yeah, i would fight for you♪

♪i'd lie for you ♪walk the wire for you ♪yeah, i'd die for you ♪you know it's true ♪everything i do ♪i do it for you dyslexia, adhd, ocd, eating disorders, and anxiety. every year, over a million young people visit the er because of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. 5,000 die by suicide. when we ignore mental health, we lose our children. the child mind institute is a reliable, relentless, and revolutionary voice for children. give today at childmind.org. ♪

♪

>> now, if you would, let's remember all those men and wome who gave their lives this year so we can live in the greatest country on earth. as john rich plays the song, their names will be scrolling. please think of them as john rich leads us and god bless america. ♪god bless america. ♪land that i love ♪stand beside her and guide her

. ♪through the night with the light from above♪ ♪from the mountains to the prairies♪ ♪to the oceans white with foam ♪god bless america, my home sweet home♪ ♪god bless america, land that i love♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] >> god bless you all tonight, god bless america.

>> weldon, brother. 60 years later there would be another revolution that happene right here in the state of texas . the odds of success just as long . this spectacular awe-inspiring victory just as impressive. to this point, not as widely known. that's about to change is we bring you same houston and the texas fight for freedom. >> the alamo isn't just a battle , it's a myth. but it's a good myth. it's about brave people making sacrifice for something they thought was important. leading a rallying cry for the rest of the