Donald Trump has selected Pete Hegseth, Fox News host, author and Army veteran, as Secretary of Defense. Hegseth is a conservative commentator with many traditional viewpoints and a strongly Conservative reform-driven desire for the U.S. military.
The Secretary of Defense is the highest-appointed position concerning military matters that a president can make, second only to the president himself. Hegseth would be in charge of creating defense policy, managing the entire Pentagon, overseeing every branch of the military (except the Coast Guard) and gathering intelligence.
If Hegseth receives the necessary approval from the Senate, he will be a core pillar of Trump’s cabinet. So, who is Hegseth and what are his viewpoints?
Views on the Military
“When you impose DEI and CRT and gender fluid standards into the military, you are breeding a less capable military,” Hegseth said in an interview with Kirk Cameron.
Hegseth is highly critical of any left-leaning ideology in his beliefs and statements concerning the military. Hegseth has specifically criticized women in combat roles, claiming they have been put there artificially and are not meeting the original standards for combat positions.
“I’m okay with the idea that you maintain the standards where they are for everybody and if there’s some, you know, hard-charging female that meets that standard — great, cool join the infantry battalion — but that is not what’s happened. What has happened is the standards have lowered,” Hegseth said on the Shawn Ryan Show.
While the military has said they haven’t lowered any standards, Hegseth seems to believe that there is a de-facto lowering of standards in the military, from high-ranking officers pressuring lower officers to maintain higher levels of women in combat roles.
Hegseth has also criticized the educational apparatus for the military, saying they push the same ideologies that have been weakening the military. He has instead called for a purge of many of the superintendents and professors from the military academies.
“There’s a good core in the middle. A good, honest, God-fearing core inside our military that wants to do the right things,” Hegseth said.
Views on Foreign Rivals
Hegseth has also commented on Russia as a player on the global stage. In general, Hegseth finds Russia not to be capable or willing to extend past Ukraine and has voiced his concern about America getting over-involved in Europe.
“I don’t think he’s [Putin] a suicidal maniac who’s hellbent on bringing Armageddon. If Ukraine can defend themselves from that — great, but I don’t want American intervention driving deep into Europe,” Hegseth said.
Furthermore, Hegseth believes that China is a direct enemy of the U.S. and is actively seeking global domination to America’s detriment. He believes that the U.S. is completely failing and falling behind China, while China excels in almost every metric.
“They [China] have a full spectrum, long-term view, of not just regional but global domination,” Hegseth said.
In terms of Iran, Hegseth is primarily concerned with Iran’s capability of producing and using a nuclear weapon. He believes it is dangerous to allow any Islamic extremist, which he holds Iranian leadership to be, to have a nuclear bomb.
Personal Beliefs
Hegseth routinely brings up his Christian faith as an important part of his ideology and motivations. He has commented that he feels that Christian values are under attack in the military.
“It’s always been a bedrock of the American Military — it’s that we believe in something bigger than ourselves,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth has said that being faced with life-or-death scenarios causes one to consider faith deeply. Hegseth’s beliefs are even visible in his tattoos which amongst other things, involve heavy Christian imagery and has caused some to call him a religious extremist.
While it is currently unclear how Hegseth’s beliefs will inform his decisions, in his capacity as Secretary of Defense, it seems certain that he will play a controversial role in the coming administration — being a bigoted regression to some and a return of greatness to others.
