Establishmentarians belittle Trump's defense secretary pick — but are quickly put in their place

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will be appointing decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth to the position of secretary of defense, a post currently occupied by Ret. Gen. Lloyd Austin.

The liberal media and various establishmentarians rushed to criticize Trump and his selection, suggesting that the father of seven lacks the credentials and experience of past Pentagon chiefs, including President Joe Biden's pick, whose legacy is apparently a better-armed Taliban.

Hegseth, a two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, likely doesn't need help fending off those armchair critics desperate to maintain the status quo. Nevertheless, friends, allies, and others with long memories jumped in to highlight that Hegseth is, in fact, well suited to the role, not least because of the reasons that have rankled establishmentarians.

The announcement

"Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country," Trump said in a statement Tuesday. "Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America's enemies are on notice — Our Military will be great Again, and America will Never Back Down."

'The woke stuff will be gone.'

Trump noted that Hegseth is a graduate of Princeton University as well as Harvard University, where he received a master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Trump also alluded to Hegseth's firsthand experience with war, writing, "He is an Army Combat Veteran who did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan. For his actions on the battlefield, he was decorated with two Bronze Stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman's Badge."

It appears that Hegseth's proposals in his recent book, "The War on Warriors," concerning how to "return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence" caught Trump's eye, warranting a mention in the announcement.

Months ahead of his landslide victory, Trump told a crowd in Las Vegas to buy Hegseth's book, stressing, "The woke stuff will be gone within a period of 24 hours. I can tell you," reported the Associated Press.

"Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our 'Peace through Strength' policy," added Trump.

Bubbles in the swamp

Politico, incautious as always despite its recent false and misleading reports, rushed to attack Hegseth with an article titled "'Who the f--k is this guy?': Defense world reacts to Trump’s surprise Pentagon pick." The subtitle read, "'Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history,' one veterans' advocate said."

The liberal publication suggested:

the pick will do little to quell fears inside the Pentagon and beyond that Trump, who jousted with his own defense secretaries, plans this time to install a loyalist who will unquestioningly carry out his policies. Trump's campaign trail rhetoric has primed fears that his second term could see a swift and divisive overhaul at the Pentagon.

While framing the 44-year-old father of seven as unfit for the position and a Pentagon overhaul as undesirable, the article revealed the kinds of people presently uncomfortable with the decision: Eric Edelman, a top policy official in the Bush Pentagon and former Dick Cheney adviser; a military-industrial complex lobbyist unfamiliar with the pick; a veterans group funded by the Koch brothers; Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, D.C.; and a former Obama official.

"I think it's a surprising pick, someone who’s a TV personality when the entire rhetoric from Trump and everyone else is that the world is falling apart and you pick someone who is not necessarily the most experienced," said former Obama official Max Bermann, now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies — a think tank funded in part by the Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Raytheon Company.

Former Jan. 6 committee member and Ukraine hawk Adam Kinzinger tweeted, "Wow. Trump picking Pete Hegseth is the most hilariously predictably stupid thing."

'Everyone is simply shocked.'

"I confess I didn't know who he was until 20 minutes ago," said Rep. Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. "And he certainly doesn't seem to have any background whatsoever in DOD policy."

Smith was apparently concerned that Hegseth might not be able to fill the shoes of the man who oversaw the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, lied to the president about being hospitalized, watched impotently as a Chinese spy balloon flew over the United States, and failed to correct the recruitment crisis.

"What's your plan? What are you going to do?" said Smith. "How can you assure us that that lack of experience, you know, isn't going to make it impossible for you to do the job?"

Identitarian Joy Reid suggested on her MSNBC show that Hegseth was just a morning show host for Trump's "clown car."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tweeted, "A Fox & Friends weekend co-host is not qualified to be the Secretary of Defense. I lead the Senate military personnel panel. All three of my brothers served in uniform. I respect every one of our servicemembers. Donald Trump's pick will make us less safe and must be rejected."

'He's had a front row seat to ALL of our forever wars.'

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reportedly said, "Wow," in response to Trump's pick.

One defense official reportedly told CNN, "Everyone is simply shocked."

Media Matters, a leftist organization founded by Democratic operative David Brock that recently pushed for the censorship of BlazeTV hosts, attacked Hegseth, suggesting he is "an anti-Muslim bigot" for daring to write, "Just like the Christian crusaders who pushed back the Muslim hordes in the twelfth century, American Crusaders will need to muster the same courage against Islamists today."

Bursting bubbles

Combat veteran Sean Parnell was among those who did not take kindly to the dismissive tone taken by liberal media types regarding Hegseth.

When MSNBC news analyst Jake Sherman tweeted, "TRUMP had named PETE HEGSETH to be secretary of defense. Hegseth has been a host on Fox News," Parnell responded, "I'm sorry but is this a joke? He's a combat veteran of Iraq & Afghanistan. He served in GITMO. He's had a front row seat to ALL of our forever wars. He's seen the total failure of those who sent us. He's more qualified than **any** so called DC expert & it's not even close."

'The party of DEI hires are pissed about Pete Hegseth?'

BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler shared an excerpt from the Politico piece, writing, "If the military industrial complex hates you, you may be an awesome choice for Sec of Defense."

Wheeler also shared a picture of two of the cross-dressing officials in the Biden-Harris administration, tweeting, "Leftists were cool with this creep at Dept of Energy and this groomer at HHS. But now they're outraged by ... Pete Hegseth? Lol. Ok, weirdos."

The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway wrote, "Obviously it's better to have a SecDef who'd give the enemy a heads-up before we or our allies attack," alluding to Mark Milley's phone calls with his communist Chinese counterpart.

YouTuber David Freiheit, known under his online pseudonym "Viva Frei," blasted Sen. Warren for her attack on Hegseth, writing, "It's unbelievable. Truly astonishing. They are not just rapacious liars. They are incorrigible idiots. Hey Pocahontas, do you not know that Pete Hegseth is a two-decade veteran who served in combat?"

Conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck jumped in, noting, "Pete Hegseth is literally a combat veteran with 2 bronze stars who led a squadron in Baghdad. He's worked on veterans issues ever since and he's also a Princeton + Harvard graduate. You do NOT respect our troops or you wouldn't disrespect Pete by calling him just a Fox host."

"The party of DEI hires are pissed about Pete Hegseth?" wrote Chad Prather. "Sorry that the Harvard grad that led a battalion in Iraq and has two bronze stars doesn't paint his nails."

Extra to wanting to maximize lethality and to rid the military of paralyzing wokeness, Hegseth has signaled a desire to maintain high standards for combat roles, even if that means fewer or no female service members on the battlefield.

"It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated. … We've all served with women, and they're great," Hegseth told the titular host of "The Shawn Ryan Show" last week. "But our institutions don't have to incentivize that in places where, traditionally — not traditionally, over human history — men in those positions are more capable."

Hegseth, who has a tattoo of the Jerusalem cross as well as a tattoo of the Latin phrase for "God wills it," indicated in his book that he was sidelined for his religious views.

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