I try not to read into these words too much, because I think he just says stuff sometimes. But calling him a "true believer" in America First is a bit scary terminology wise.
I don’t watch Fox so i don’t know anything about this guy. I’m sure he will be loyal. Maybe he will be good. He is photogenic. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/12/us/politics/pete-hegseth-defense-secretary-trump.html President-elect Donald J. Trump on Tuesday chose Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to be his next defense secretary, elevating a television ally to run the Pentagon and lead 1.3 million active-duty troops. The choice of Mr. Hegseth was outside the norm of the traditional defense secretary. But he was a dedicated supporter of Mr. Trump during his first term, defending his interactions with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, embracing his “America First” agenda of trying to withdraw U.S. troops from abroad and energetically taking up the cause of combat veterans accused of war crimes.
Seems like a lightweight to me. A talking head. Poor pick. Did I read his highest military service was a Major in the Reserves?
Just because his rank is major does not mean he is a light weight. Every General had to be a major at some point. The biggest issue here is his lack of experience. I think he would be a better pick for the VA. For SecDef, I want to see a pick that falls into one of three areas: 1. Experience running a very large organization. 2. Experience in the Military/National Defense Industry at the executive level, or 3. White House/Senate/House Leadership position experience. This candidate does not have any of the three.
I think the point with Hegseth is that he is not any of what you listed above. He is viewed as a disruptor by Trump. I see the wisdom in it. The Washington elites have become tone deaf to the detriment of our military. His viewpoints on China are spot on. We’re way behind where we should be and the only reason we have the clout we do is because we’ve flooded the zone with bases all over the world. We need a disruptor in that seat, so I get this pick 100%. No, he’s none of the three things you mentioned. That’s the whole point.
My military buddies are shaking their heads. The guy might be qualified to lead the Veterans Affairs department, at best. He has NO QUALIFICATIONS to lead the department of defense.
I know, I get it. You’re reeling because Trump will protect your most hated country of the Jewish State of Israel.
What past performance has Hegseth demonstrated in being a disuptor? If he does not have experience with one of those, he is being step up for failure. It is going to take him 4 months to get caught up on DIB policy alone. Then he has to start lobbying Congress for help doing it. We will have already blown past the first 100 days at that point.
