The performative patriotism of Pete Hegseth
Don't be fooled by people hugging the flag.
“How many pushups can you do?”
That was the question from Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy to Pete Hegseth, who Donald Trump has nominated to be our next Secretary of Defense. There have been ridiculous cabinet appointments before — men and women who are unqualified for the positions for which they’ve been chosen — but to my memory there have been none more ridiculous than Hegseth, and yesterday’s confirmation hearing reflected the unserious nature of his nomination.
“I did five sets of 47 today,” Hegseth responded, 47 being the number that coincides with Trump’s second term.
Even in answering a completely unrelated question — even in doing something as completely unrelated to politics as pushups — Hegseth still feels the need to show his cult-like loyalty to Trump. How bizarre.
There are many problems with Hegseth, some of which were addressed by Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday. Hegseth’s most recent job was as a talking head on Fox News. Before that he worked for two veterans service organizations whose disastrous finances preceded his ouster. Hegseth’s success appears to have come from his ability to Be Pete Hegseth, a handsome, outspoken “patriot” who, like Trump, spends his free time cheating on his wives and fathering children with mistresses who eventually become his wives.
Hegseth is on his third, by the way, not that I think that matters but I just find it interesting coming from a guy who wears his Christianity like a neon sign and proclaims to represent “traditional” American values. It seems like it’s always the guys who talk the most loudly about this stuff that end up violating the values they uphold and the oaths they took. These are the “hypocrites” Christ talked about, people who “love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.”
More Doom from the transition
Hegseth took full advantage of the opportunity to discuss his faith on Tuesday. There was of course the matter of defending the cross tattooed on his chest, which some claim is a symbol beloved by white nationalists but Hegseth said was simply a marker of his Christianity. He kicked off his remarks by thanking his “lord and savior, Jesus Christ.” And when pressed about his extramarital activities, Hegseth noted that he had made mistakes — I’ll note he didn’t use the word “sins” — and that he had “been redeemed by Christ.”
He might not have been redeemed by his two ex-wives, however. The FBI’s background check on Hegseth apparently did not include interviews with his two former spouses, nor the woman who he allegedly raped in 2017. That might have to do with something mentioned by Sen. Tim Kaine that was missed by most of the press — possible non-disclosure agreements between Hegseth and his first two wives. Kaine pressed Hegseth on the matter, asking him whether his first two wives had signed NDAs. Kaine also asked Hegseth whether either of those marriages included allegations of domestic violence on his part. Hegseth dodged the question.
I reached out to Kaine’s office to ask them whether the senator was aware of NDAs from Hegseth’s first two marriages, or any credible allegations of assault by Hegseth, but haven’t heard back.
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