Defending Pete Hegseth
Until the end.
From the moment Pete Hegseth was announced for Secretary of Defense, there was no doubt that Democrats, and their media helpers, were going to go at him with everything they had. I tweeted about it at the time.
(I actually posted that at 7:08am but I’m currently on the west coast. Yes, I need to clarify because a 4am tweet is very different than a 7am tweet.)
A lot of the responses to my tweet said variations of “Pete won’t need defending.” But I knew. The rage was telling. How dare Donald Trump pick a television host to run the Pentagon? They weren’t angry about his credentials, which are largely stellar. They’re angry at this handsome host, who does the same job they do! succeeding to this extent. It was jealousy and it was ugly.
The next day, on Normally, my co-host Mary Katharine Ham and I discussed why we particularly liked the Hegseth pick:
Since then, the media has been scrambling around for something to stick. They started with his personal problems. He’s been unfaithful. He’s been married three times. So has the guy who just won a landslide election.
Have you seen his tattoos? What’s the worst thing we can call them? Oh yeah, Christian nationalist. I discussed that anti-Christian bigotry on the Will Cain show. The same media that doesn’t know what a Jerusalem cross is wants to take down Pete Hegseth’s nomination. No.
A few days ago, they tried to tie a questionable assault accusation to Pete. I addressed this one in a column in the New York Post.
When that didn’t work, he became an alcoholic who drinks at work. Not a single person went on the record with their accusation. Pete’s coworkers are vociferously pushing back, on the record, so the media will be onto something else.
They think they are in charge. The headlines keep declaring:
“Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is in peril in the Senate”
“Hegseth future in doubt as even Trump allies raise questions”
“Hegseth nomination in jeopardy”
Trump has to show them they are not. The nomination process isn’t run by the media. They’re openly hoping his nomination fails, and weak Republican Senators are hoping they succeed so they don’t have to make a decision. Which Republican senator won’t be voting for Hegseth? That’s where the conversation should be. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney joined 50 Democrats to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson, who isn’t a biologist so can’t define “woman,” to the Supreme Court. They can certainly confirm Hegseth for DoD who has never said anything that stupid. Do they need to show independence from Donald Trump? Great, vote down his Secretary of Labor pick who is supported by people like Randi Weingarten and Elizabeth Warren. That’ll show him!
The bigger question is which Republican Senator doesn’t understand what just happened on election day? Donald Trump was not elected to put the same people in the same roles they’ve always had. He was elected for change. The DoD desperately needs that change. Pete Hegseth represents that change. Which Republican Senator will stand in the way of that? Make them do it on the record.
A lot of my followers are surprised I’m going this hard for Hegseth. I don’t fit the mold. Though I openly, and happily voted, for Trump, I don’t MAGA all that hard. The assumption is that I’m defending Pete because we’re friends. We’re not. I like Pete, we’re certainly friendly. He’s interviewed me a number of times on Fox and we’ve hung out socially exactly one time, at a conference last year, where I also spent time with his lovely wife. I don’t have to defend him, I want to. To be frank, when you’re defending someone who isn’t an actual friend, and there’s a drip, drip of questionable news stories, the smart thing to do is step back. But I can’t. I see so clearly what they’re trying to do to Hegseth and why. We can’t let them.
Last night, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Joni Ernst were floated as replacements for Hegseth. Both of these picks would make a terrific Secretary of Defense. Or any other position in the administration. But it’s wrong to burn an excellent pick like Hegseth just because we have other talented people in the party. Yes, we have lots of great people. Let’s not let the media destroy any of them. This won’t end with Hegseth. We still have lots of other Trump picks who are going to get the media smearing treatment. What happens with Hegseth will be a tell as to what will happen to the rest of them. Defending Hegseth is preserving the whole point of electing Donald Trump. Fight. Fight!
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