There’s plenty of reasons Hegseth is unqualified. Sleaze is not central to the case. Let’s discuss.
I never thought Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth was a great nominee. But I did think he had some good and bad aspects.
I will start with the sleaze, but sleaze is unproved and is not center to my new, total disgust of Hegseth.
Trump’s Troubled Pentagon Nominee
Politico reports With Gaetz gone, Trump’s troubled Pentagon nominee is in the hot seat
Hegseth’s nomination for Defense secretary is facing headwinds over seven-year-old allegations of sexual assault, although he was never charged. But Hegseth so far had been overshadowed by Gaetz, a flame-throwing congressional ally with numerous foes in both parties who faced his own misconduct allegations, including that he engaged in sex with a minor.
Hegseth also offered his defense following the meetings, telling reporters that he “was completely cleared” in the police investigation.
Republicans Rally Around Hegseth
The Associated Press reports Republicans Rally Around Hegseth, Trump’s Pentagon Pick.
Fresh questions over the two nominees’ pasts, and their treatment of women, arose with Republicans under pressure from Trump and his allies to quickly confirm his Cabinet. At the same time, his transition has so far balked at the vetting and background checks that have traditionally been required.
A 22-page police report report made public late Wednesday offered the first detailed account of the allegations against him. A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave. The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth.
The Police Report
There are more details of the charges here: Police report reveals assault allegations against Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary
The report does not say that police found the allegations were false. Police recommended the case report be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review.
Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said Thursday that her office declined to file charges in January of 2018 because they didn’t have “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Tim Palatore, Hegseth’s attorney, has said the woman who made the allegations was paid an undisclosed sum in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to head off the threat of what he described as a baseless lawsuit.
The 22-page police report was released in response to a public records request and offers the first detailed account of what the woman alleged to have transpired — one that is at odds with Hegseth’s version of events. The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth.
I don’t know, nor does anyone else know what happened except Hegseth.
This is not a new, sudden allegation. But if Trump did any vetting beyond Hegseth’s skills as a Fox news commentator, then Hegseth was not a good pick.
Hegseth built a TV profile as a brash provocateur. Trump liked that. He failed to do any other digging.
Close Ties to Idaho Christian nationalists
The Capital Sun reports Trump’s Defense secretary nominee has close ties to Idaho Christian nationalists
Pete Hegseth, president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Defense, has close ties to an Idaho-based Christian nationalist church that aims to turn America into a theocracy.
Hegseth is a member of a Tennessee congregation affiliated with Christ Church, a controversial congregation in Moscow, Idaho, that has become a leader in the movement to get more Christianity in the public sphere.
In an appearance last year on the Christ Church-connected streaming show “Crosspolitic,” Hegseth talked about how building up fundamentalist Christian education systems is important in what he sees as a “spiritual battle” with the secular world. He sees Christian students as foot soldiers in that war and refers to Christian schools as “boot camp.”
Christ Church is led by Pastor Doug Wilson, who founded the Calvinist group of churches called the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, or CREC. CREC has congregations in nearly all 50 states and several foreign countries. Hegseth’s church is a member of CREC, and Hegseth has spoken positively of Wilson’s writings.
Wilson and his allies have a rigid patriarchal belief system and don’t believe in the separation of church and state. They support taking away the right to vote from most women, barring non-Christians from holding office and criminalizing the LGBTQ+ community.
If that is true, and those are Hegseth’s beliefs, he is unqualified. But those are charges, let’s now dig into the facts.
How Hegseth Cultivated an Image That Caught Trump’s Eye
The Wall Street Journal comments How Hegseth Cultivated an Image That Caught Trump’s Eye
During his first term, Donald Trump would sometimes interrupt meetings on military or veterans’ issues to call Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host who impressed the president with a blunt style that mirrored his own.
Hegseth railed against Pentagon leaders on television and pushed pardons for soldiers convicted of war crimes, a contrast to the cautious career officials who frustrated Trump. For his second administration, the president-elect has nominated the telegenic 44-year-old Army veteran to be his defense secretary, despite—or because of—a résumé thin on government experience.
He would come to the job never having led a large government agency or faced the scrutiny that comes with it. A 2017 sexual-assault allegation that he later paid his accuser to keep secret blindsided Trump transition officials and has left even some Republicans undecided about voting to confirm him.
Critics also have seized on Hegseth’s opposition to women soldiers serving in combat, as well as an incident when he was flagged as an “insider threat” by the National Guard for a tattoo on his biceps associated with extremist groups.
Since college, Hegseth has sought to build a profile as a brash political provocateur. At Princeton University, as the editor of a conservative campus magazine, he published controversial columns and vowed to “defend the pillars of Western civilization against the distractions of diversity.”
After a short stint as an equity markets analyst at Bear Stearns, he joined the Minnesota National Guard. He defended the treatment of prisoners at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he had done a tour of guard duty. “We bend over backward to conform ourselves to the detainees’ way of life,” he told the Minnesota Star-Tribune, his hometown newspaper.
Deploying to Iraq in 2005, Hegseth joined the 3rd battalion of the 187th infantry regiment in the northern city of Samarra, an insurgency hotbed. The regiment’s Charlie Company, which included Hegseth, employed such aggressive tactics that it was referred to by some as the Kill Company. Four of the company soldiers were court-martialed on charges of killing unarmed Iraqis.
After winning the White House in 2016, Trump interviewed Hegseth at Trump Tower in New York to be his secretary of veterans affairs. He didn’t get the job, but used the opportunity to pitch the president-elect on VA reforms.
By the summer of 2017, Hegseth had become an unofficial Trump adviser on military and veterans affairs. That October, after Hegseth traveled to Monterey, Calif., to speak at a Republican women’s conference, police investigated allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman in his hotel room after the event. He described the encounter as consensual and wasn’t charged.
Trump soon publicly echoed Hegseth’s language: “We train our boys to be killing machines, then prosecute them when they kill!” he tweeted in October 2019, tagging the Fox News host.
Trump pardoned the men over the vehement objections of senior military leaders.
The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly
I discussed Hegseth in Trump’s Cabinet Nominees, the Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly
Secretary of Defense – Pete Hegseth – Good and Bad
On the good side, Hegseth commanded troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He received the Combat Infantryman Badge. He supports soldiers and veterans and has written a book on that.
Also on the plus side, Hegseth is very charismatic and would connect and command the respect of the troops. He would remove woke ideology from the services and service academies.
On the bad side, Hegseth doesn’t have any experience running organizations.
“The bureaucrats would run circles around them. It’s ridiculous to have this guy running a $900 billion enterprise. He’s never run anything. It’s the same with Gaetz,” said one of my insider friends.
And the Pentagon is puzzled because he really does not know anything about defense systems.
Let’s call this one questionable as opposed to terrible. I doubt he is confirmed. But he should have a place somewhere. How about Veteran’s Affairs?
I Draw the Line at War Crimes
Sorry, that’s It.
I draw the line at defending war crimes in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or anywhere else. We should have closed Guantanamo long ago.
And his unit was involved in torture and killing of civilians in Iraq.
Add in the charges of sleaze, his overall view of women, and total lack of running anything.
I am thoroughly disgusted. The only thing this guy has on the plus side is loyalty to the troops. Put him in charge of Veteran’s Affairs.
Reader Comment Addendum
One of my readers commented: “Sooner or later we’ll realize destroying people’s lives on the basis of unproven allegations is not a wise way to run government. Wait til Mish faces an unproven allegation of sexual misconduct.”
I knew in advance I would get a jackass comment like the above despite the fact I explicitly stated it was not central to the case.
People cannot read, or refuse to read. Call it TDS Type II. Trump made the pick so it cannot possibly be wrong.
I do not condone torture or defense of it. And Hegseth does. He is unqualified for that reason alone.
The other charges should be be vetted. But add in no experience at running anything other than his mouth, and he was disqualified for that reason too.
Ishabaka: “Sooner or later we’ll realize destroying people’s lives on the basis of unproven allegations is not a wise way to run government. Wait til Mish faces an unproven allegation of sexual misconduct.”
I knew in advance I would get a jackass comment like the above despite the fact I explicitly stated it was not central to the case.
People cannot read, or refuse to read. Call it TDS Type II. Trump made the pick so it cannot possibly be wrong.
I do not condone torture or defense of it. And that was clearly the case. He is unqualified for that reason alone, and the other charges should be be vetted. But add in no experience at running anything other than his mouth, and he was disqualified for that reason too.
Yeah, its not central to the case yet you spent a considerable portion of the article on it.
Exactly
Mish is just addressing what the discussion is about. What, he is supposed to just ignore big chunks of the debate because they don’t please you?
Thanks
Appreciated
Megan Kelly has an excellent breakdown of the accusation. It’s worth listening to. Even if I agree the charge is nonsense he still shows a lack of character. The current occupant was also a corrupt pick.
“I don’t know, nor does anyone else know what happened except Hegseth.”
According to the police report, the woman was the one who was not drunk & lucid. It’s clear that Hegseth was the one who was drunk, so I would totally disagree with your characterization. Based on eyewitness accounts, the woman is the one who knows what exactly happened. And it took her days later after she spilled the beans to her husband to contact the police.
The “alleged victims” story doesn’t make sense. She claims she was drugged. There are multiple witnesses who saw her at the bar with Heseth AND her husband advised she didn’t look or sound intoxicated/drugged. Hegseth was reported to have been intoxicated. Also, she claims to have seeked medical attention. Where are the blood tests results to prove she had a “date rape drug” in her system.
I’m not sure why so many people are happily lobbing this charge that he’s ‘never run anything before’ as a legitimate criticism. The class of professional leeches that occupy government have plenty of experience running things…into the ground. Would and outsider really do any worse? By that criteria you’d prefer a professional swamp creature like Rumsfeld. How did he do? One of the most important qualities in an actual leader is to surround themselves with people that have expertise to cover their own gaps. Administartive positions are not rocket science. Also, while I can see some comments as deserving of challenge or even ridicule the one you quote hardly deserves being called a jackass comment considering that the topic is discussed in some detail in your article.
How could Hegseth be worse than Austin and Milley’s Afghanistan debacle?
Since you brought this up, this would lead the USA to be held accountable of its deeds everywhere in the world. One could start asking what actually happened with weapons of mass destruction and Iraq.
USA changed the leadership of Ukraine and caused another meaningless war with millions of death. It seems a bit more than having double standards when USA is all the time causing meaningless wars killing innocent people.
If anything good needs to be said about Trump is that he did not start any new wars on his first term. Hope that continues now.
I like to ask, was Bidens administration any better in this regard?
Mish is badly remiss in trotting out the sexual innuendo without bothering to read the police report, which clarifies reasonably well that Hegseth was guilty of nothing in this instance. The woman’s claims are contradicted by numerous facts and witnesses, even her own husband.
I don’t care about 7 year old allegations. I don’t care about the Christian nationalism. But I agree that defending war crimes should be disqualifying. But then again, that will disqualify almost everyone who has a shot at the job.
The only fair and equitable way to proceed on Trump’s appointments is to allow the Dems and Pelosi to choose them.
That way, they will all be approved w/o delay.
Even though Biden’s cabinet was full to the brim with sexual deviants (Sam Brinton, Rachel Devine, Mayor Pete!,etc) thieves (Sam Brinton; FELON). Marxist/Commies (Merrick Garland, Javier Becerra, Mayorkas, etc…) and unserious, unqualified nitwits (Jared Bernstein, Biden’s top economic adviser & thoroughly confused Dork; no idea how the Treasury & Fed work) presiding over the departments they were appointed (and approved by LOTS of Rhino Senators)
I could go on but there’s no need.
So, compared to the freak show we’ve suffered under for almost 4 years, Trump’s picks look pretty good.
hear-hear!
Gotta go with Mish on this one.
Guantanamo is a national disgrace. Locked up forever, no habeas corpus, and torture but they get a Koran and halal, that’s bending over backward for them. Our wars are outrageous, and it appears Hegseth revels in it. I was hoping for Tulsi to get DOD, she has a NAP attitude.
I read the police report and it’s no wonder there were no charges. Complete and utter bullshit. She’s married and was obsessed with the guy, even texting her husband about Hegseth the entire evening. There are several inconsistencies and she had to tell her husband, who was staying in the same hotel, why she didn’t come back to their room until 4:00a.m.. Unfortunately, some women have weaponized the legal system against men and this is a classic example.
Exactly right. Any reasonable, objective person will look at the facts of the case and conclude that it is far more likely that the woman was the ‘aggressive’ or instigating party in this case. This picture of women as perpetually innocent victims of male aggression plain old BS.
Trump’s only qualifier, are you on your knees, mouth open.
People voted against Harris, so no.
That was President Clinton proven with DNA evidence f___ f____ his intern in the White House and pergering himself. And the dnc and it’s parrots makeup similar stories without any evidence to fuel their hate on any dissent
Mish, have you contacted W and O for comments?
I think many of your qualifiers for what makes a person suitable are too narrow and suggest you lack actual management experience. I spent 20 years managing thousands of employees and found the background and experience are not the most important attribute. Personality is. I always had plenty of experienced and qualified candidates but if they irritate people or don’t listen etc., they will always fail. Someone likeable who listens and learns quickly from their employees will always do better than the usual suspects. Nothing changes in the system if you continue to use the same old tired qualifiers for a government job.
Well said. An actual leader knows how to surround themselves with competent SMEs and takes council from them when they have gaps in their own knowledge or experience base. Prior ‘experience’ in administration doesn’t guarantee success. Just look at the LAUSD or any major University.
Yep! I agree with a turn-around specialist/buddy that told me all you need to do is walk into a crisis and find the few people (10-20%) at the Exec level who make sense; promote them; let the others walk (the yes-men who followed orders from ex-CEO) and then let the workers do their jobs; rebuild exec ranks slowly.
I think Trump is one of few politicians capable of this….although he brings the Chaos of someone who’s only run private/personal companies (not public companies). Elon will give him good advice.
Is it dawning on anyone yet that Trump’s Picks for his cabinet is from a MM deep pool of Sexual Assault perps. When will he call Weinstein in to be Secty of Mental Health?
We also have to recall Trump’s “pussy grabbing” comments.
“You can do anything…..”
Accusations against 2 people, is not a deep pool. The Hegseth accusation is even doubtful, considering video and eyewitness testimony.
One other point; I don’t know who the last “qualified” Sec of Defense was, but the one we have now was a 4-Star General and had been in charge of Central Command, the one responsible for all the Middle East wars. The Pentagon has failed the last 7 audits, 4 under his management. The Defense Department hasn’t won a war since 1945, spent $1Trillion in Afghanistan that can’t be accounted for, and got beat by 70,000 goat herders and left $Billions of equipment for China and every other rogue outfit to rummage through. Our Humvees are now parade toys. Anyone held accountable? No, just throw another $Trillion on the fire. But you are fine with it, because they were “qualified”.
In 1950, the original stated goal was to restore the government of South Korea. That was accomplished. The goal in 1991, was to remove Saddam from Kuait. That was accomplished. 2003, was to move Saddam. That was accomplished. It was the American political administrator in Iraq who decided to disband the Iraqi army, instead of utilize it under new management, as a supplemental security force, to help prevent or quell an insurgency.
I’m sure Austin is a good-guy … he follows orders nicely….solid bureaucrat.
“They support taking away the right to vote from most women, barring non-Christians from holding office and criminalizing the LGBTQ+ community.”
This would be a pretty good start if we wanted to save the West…
“The MSM” pointed out awhile back, that Gaetz, Hegseth & RFK Jr. had almost a “Zero Shot” of confirmation, zero! As late as last week it was being reported by the media, that Gaetz “can’t get confirmed.” In fact Greenfield characterized these 3 Individuals as “the most unqualified individuals ever to be nominated.” But still felt due to history and precedent, or perhaps to toss some additional confusion into the mix, they would all be confirmed.
So both sides of the coin were being played by “Politico & The MSM” which doesn’t just happen, and with such contentious confirmations at stake. This suddenly feels scripted to me. Was it perhaps a steered event unfolding, real-time as well as wanted, but for the wrong reasons? I felt that way, as I wrote, in regards to the Gaetz “180”
Now we are talking about #2 of the 3 however, so this opens things up further, No? Say Hegseth also gets trashed like Gaetz, right/wrong irrelevant, and after a couple days He equally quietly slithers away, and states a very similar reason for doing so. We would then have to ask ourselves, Whom would be a good slide in candidate? And would this become another Gaetz scenario?
Whom would be a far better candidate from a management and control of an extremely large organization, point of view? Equally such a supporter and probably, now that you’re thinking about it, is truly a “Trump Pick”? If that occurs, then I am going with my Gaetz scenario yet again, but with Hegseth as the bait, but Whom are we switching Him out for? Will it be Tulsi? Nikki? We’re either thought to be that person at some point? Would either be highly considered a Trump selection? I would guess yes for one of them, for certain.
That would leave only 1 of 3 and many questions, no? Would they dare take out RFK Jr too, or would that be the icing on the “Trifecta Cake”? Jr. Is pretty damn diverse, and fully capable of nearly any role Trump would like to use him in. No issues there at all. Two others have already been mentioned as assistant or possibly joining outright I think?
All 3 easily replaced, and with as good or better candidates, and all still strong supporters and behind the goals and accomplishments Trump is looking to achieve. All 3 with places to be placed within, where they can be equally effective in their new roles. It all just seems to easy to fit pieces into place, by moving them around from already publicly stated roles, into new ones, with only upside in play? Trump is simply “Just Different” in a good way, and to Me it can be refreshingly welcome, at times!
He’s unqualified based on his subservience to Israel.
According to you, so is Trump.
Both Harris and Trump had indistinguishable positions on Israel. Trump was just more honest about his.
Trump was preferable on other issues but he had zero chance of carrying my state so I voted for the Greens, just on foreign policy and to give a middle finger to the democrats.
I don’t think anyone here is surprised by your about face. It certainly gives you a topic for a new article that joins the negative, hysterical outrage that a man got drunk & had consensual sex with a woman who later changes her mind, the situation is investigated by the police with Hegseth being cleared but somehow 3+ years later the accuser signs an NDA & is paid hush money.
Hegseth is qualified to the SecDef. Period! Like the AG, he will have countless expert advisors across a broad range of areas for dealing with how to convey the president’s vision & orders to the military.
IMHO, you’re simply joining the liberal media with hysteria due to Hegseth’s Christianity & belief that woke ideology has no place in the US military. Neither of these views do anything to disqualify him from being SecDef, and the majority of US voters that just put Trump into office with a mandate agree that Hegseth is qualified.
All of Trump’s nominees best quality is their commitment to the 47th’s vision that massive change across all areas of the federal government are required.
You don’t need quants & managers for this. You need people committed to the change.
16 years ago, Obama road into office and he put in place bureaucrats across all levels of government who were committed to the change he believed was needed.
Well, now it’s our turn.
What hubris! You sound absolutely clueless with “the majority of US voters that just put Trump into office with a mandate agree that Hegseth is qualified”. Who are you to speak for the 75M+ voters that voted for Trump? You have no idea if they think this guy is qualified, much less best for the job. But yet, you will confidently claim “period” that he is qualified and should immediately be in because everyone else thinks so. Why should anyone listen to any of your opinions with such hubris and cluelessness?
Just to give you an obvious clue, when the nominee can’t even be approved by a Senate comprised of a majority of the same party, like Gaetz, they may be unqualified. And the Senate is THE body – by the Constitution – that determines if the candidate are an appropriate person for the job. I realize you don’t like it. But I”m trying to help you look less ridiculous. It does not matter what Mish thinks, or the MSM or Obama. The Senate gets to decide.
The guy with Hubris in his moniker telling me that I’ve got hubris. ROTFLMAO! That’s the pot calling the kettle black.
All of these senators who’ve opposed Trump at some point along the way will all have to think long & hard about crossing him. The Turtle is the only one with nothing to lose.
Those 76M voters are ready for change. Legit!
Pete is a jackass who will close many US bases.
He has no power to close bases on his say so. He can recommend, but Congress has ultimate responsibility.
What’s the problem with that?
The holder of the most golf courses in the world is the U.S. military.
Torture is relative. For some prisoners at GITMO taking away their Koran was torture. For others, cleaning their waste from the floors.
That said, I wonder at what point would I condone torture, and how far would I go? It’s easy to be moralistic when you have nothing to lose.
What would I do if I captured a kidnapper who has taken my child? The child has 60 minutes to live, etc. etc. There is NOTHING I would not do to find out where the child is. To go from that to torturing a terrorist is NOT a big step. It depends on what is at stake.
As for the sexual misconduct, it is a matter of he said, she said. An attorney specializing in sexual harassment once advised me to NEVER have a man or woman in my office alone, regardless of the reason. Always have a witness (or two) present. It that wasn’t possible, the door was left open. The reason should be obvious. Claims of harassment come down to she said–women don’t lie.
Regarding war crimes, the citizens of Gaza would say Israel is guilty of genocide, yet others here would disagree. Even war crimes are relative.
As for Hegseth? I see nothing to suggest he is capable of thinking critically.
Well said.
Mish is trying to make this a black and white issue by making a straw man by assuming that “the treatment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners” was torture, taking the situation out of context and then glibly asking if readers would want their family members tortured.
This is a pathetic and spacious position by Mish.
Opposing women soldiers is not unreasonable, for very obvious reasons, which Mish pretends to ignore.
The sexual assault smears don’t deserve airtime, yet Mish indulges them copiously.
The above are unreasonable parts of a case.
The reasonable case for not hiring Hegseth is lack of experience and lack of competence or intelligence; plus the realpolitik of avoiding attacks through smears.
I guess you could make him Vets rep, but perhaps he’s better off just left being a gobby pundit?
Your opinion is, he isn’t intelligent. He has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. Where are yours from?
Torture is relative. For some prisoners at GITMO taking away their Koran was torture. For others, cleaning their waste from the floors.
That said, I wonder at what point would I condone torture, and how far would I go? It’s easy to be moralistic when you have nothing to lose.
What would I do if I captured a kidnapper who has taken my child? The child has 60 minutes to live, etc. etc. There is NOTHING I would not do to find out where the child is. To go from that to torturing a terrorist is NOT a big step. It depends on what is at stake.
As for the sexual misconduct, it is a matter of he said, she said. An attorney specializing in sexual harassment once advised me to NEVER have a man or woman in my office alone, regardless of the reason. Always have a witness (or two) present. It that wasn’t possible, the door was left open. The reason should be obvious. Claims of harassment come down to she said–women don’t lie.
Regarding war crimes, the citizens of Gaza would say Israel is guilty of genocide, yet others here would disagree. Even war crimes are relative.
As for Hegset? I see nothing to suggest he is capable of thinking critically.
Maybe the problem is recruitment? Perhaps those typical recruits, white, christian, rural 20 somethings, don’t want to join and fight for the woke, and elitest anymore.
I’m concerned with Trump/Hegseth that the recruitment falloff among White males will reverse only for them to be sent to slaughter in some middle east war.
Interesting that Trump keeps nominating unqualified people.
Like Biden before him.
Interesting that Presidents in general keep hiring unqualified people. Why is that?!
I don’t have a problem with the rapes or turning the country into a theocracy or removing women’s right to vote, but I don’t like a guy having tattoos.
LOL!!!
Who will be the next clown out of the car, and what critical job will they be assigned?
Cue the circus music.
Sounds not very different from an Islamic theocracy, such as Iran or Afghanistan.
Sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?
The linked article is an attack piece that gets this and a host of things dead wrong. It’s full of unfounded and inaccurate statements just like this one. What Wilson and his followers advocate for is not a theocracy. It’s the Constitutional Republic we were actually given by our founders, who recognized that the “Supreme Judge of the World” was and is sovereign over all people and governments, and appealed to Him for the “rectitude our [their] intentions”.
They recognized, and we should too, that there is a vast difference between a nation whose God is the Lord, and one that believes that God is irrelevant. Our elected public servants should understand that they are not rulers, but rather public servants, dedicated to serving the people of the electorate in God-honoring ways.
Anyone who wants to dismiss Wilson should listen to some of what he says publicly. He has two podcasts, Blog and Mablog, and the Plodcast.
That said, I agree with Mish that Hegseth is unqualified, and should not be affirmed.
But a lot more sensible.
Pete will never train terrorists to attack the US in order to have a casus belli.
Since the 1960’s the US gov empowered the queen of the house and reduced the
man of the house to a yes man. The dems used women to topple their opponents. The higher they go the better. Redneck women don’t care about women like Dr Ford or sleazebag women. ICC Karim Khan might sue Pete Hegseth for genocide and sexual harassment. For decades the navy subs trumped smaller ballistic missiles flying from airplanes bc subs are stealthy. Pete isn’t contaminated by admirals or the by air force generals. He will sack 30%/50% 4 stars generals and Woke officers.
This notion of civility towards terrorists, or “laws” of war are some of the most asinine concepts humanity has ever conceived. These are ideas supported by those who would promote war for the sake of war.
War should be the f-ing scariest and most undesirable option on the table for all involved. It should have no restrictions! Some people desperately need a taste of Armageddon, especially those who are part of the military industrial complex.
Mish, I know you don’t mention it, but the content of his books and media presence is pretty damaging as well.
“Damaging”? Be precise.
My only question on your post is, if what you typed and believed is true, why would you support him holding a leadership position such as in Veterans Affairs? Especially when you followed up in comment-rebuttals with “add in no experience at running anything other than his mouth.”
So I would ask that you edit your comment and simply say “The only thing this guy has on the plus side is loyalty to the troops” and not follow it with a recommendation to run anything. Wouldn’t that be more on point given your post and your subsequent comments?
He will stand up for veterans issues.
He has respect of the soldiers.
I think he would put an end to kicking veterans out of shelters for illegal immigrants.
But you do raise a good point given he has no experience running anything.
But this is a tiny setup not the Defense Dept behemoth.
Not a single SecDef who’s ever been nominate & confirmed required experience running things. They needed commitment to the Constitution & the president’s vision for the military & national security concerns.
You act like the he’s the only guy who’s going to make managerial decisions out of the 2.91M DoD employees. For that matter, there are 30K people who work at the Pentagon.
The guy attended Princeton & Harvard and you’re worried about his lack of “managerial experience”.
Your positions are laughable.
McNamara was an executive at Ford. Brilliant guy. Was involved in the Strategic Bombing Survey after WW2.
How did that turn out?
“ I don’t know, nor does anyone else know what happened except Hegseth.”
What about the women??!?!?!?
Right! The police report paints a very clear picture of what happened:
Pete got drunk & the accuser was the one who was not drunk & lucid.
I’ve concerns also about Huckabee’s zealotry and the biased effects upon his interpretation of events related to Israel. People like him Pete and Matt are not credible to the broader community of our nation. We need to be sensitive “where and when we can” to each other’s interests. EXAMPLE…the political “Right” wants the political Left to be sensitive to voter ID to aid in securing elections. I think the “Left” can and should be sensitive and support that element for the good of the whole community. Where we can, we should.
I don’t favor religious orthodox Enthusiasts in government. There may be no law against that, I understand. I just don’t think it helpful, beneficial and wise.
I think you would be very happy with an asexual eunuch who has no political affiliation and who reports to work every day in a grey suit at precisely 8 am. And spends the day approving every spending request so as not to offend either side. “Sensitive”, you know.
Both Harris and Trump have the same position on Israel. Trump was just more honest about it.
I wish the holy rollers would get swept up in the Rapture already.
The jews must be incredulous at these bible thumpers. Each side is thinking they’re using the other but the jews will definitely get all the benefit.
Would it possible to make your case without the links to the fake news organizations? Linking to them only makes your argument weaker. I wouldn’t be surprised if most people here simply don’t read them.
Man, I hate it when I have across the board agreement with Mr. Sherlock. Makes me question reality.
One quibble. “Sleaze” isn’t really the right word. It kind of minimizes the problem. What we are talking about is a credible allegation of rape. Sleaze bothers me, but mere sleaze is fairly common. Rape is a bigger problem.
Credible allegation that was extensively investigated by the local police without charges being filled.
And then three years later as Trump is running for office again, the accuser comes out of nowhere and signs and NDA for hush money.
And the lady was not drunk while Hegseth was, so she can concoct anything she thinks will stick. Fortunately, that’s what we have police for & presumed innocence in our legal system.
The woman required medical attention.
No she didn’t. It was days before she went to the hospital and police. And there’s no mention of even a bruise in the police report.
Wow – Thanks
You are a person of integrity
What should be central to your case is the complete lack of experience of running a large organisation. That was a legitimate case against Gaetz too. It should be amongst the first questions. These people are being hired to get things done, and if they can’t, then they shouldn’t be there.
The same 4 who would have voted against Gaetz would also vote against Pete.
You make the claim that his “unit” was involved in killing and torture in Iraq. The military better be involved in killing, or what would you have them do? How many in a Battalion? Up to 1,000 soldiers and Pete wasn’t the commander of the unit. Has the commander or the commander’s commander been drug through the mud like you are doing to Pete? No, you don’t even know their names. What about the Generals in the Pentagon who deserve the ultimate responsibility? But, no. You need to hang one man for what happens in a war against a vile enemy. Of which you have zero personal experience.
If you read the report on the alleged “rape”, you will find that the woman walked back to his room with him arm in arm. It’s on video. After they had sex, she went back to her room where her husband and child/children were staying and lied to him saying she fell asleep on a couch. After they went home, she had sex with ther husband, then 4 days after the incident she decided she must have been raped, because she’d never do such a thing as commit adultery. How is a physician or nurse supposed to know if she was raped by her husband or someone else? The woman had remorse for what she had done and the best way to assuage her guilt was to blame it on Pete and/or someone “put something in my drink”. Nobody corroborated her story of being drunk. Do you think the local prosecutor, in California of all places, would be reluctant to bring charges unless there was some evidence of rape? After all, other than murder, it’s the highest crime.
As for the treatment of inmates at Guantanamo, those killers are there for a reason. There is no punishment that will bring back the soldiers and civilians they are responsible for murdering. Some have been released and returned right back to the battlefield. May they rot in hell, and may Satan’s torture of them never end.
America is in a fight for our very existence as we have known it. And that’s just from the Democrats. If we don’t want warriors to fight (and women shouldn’t be in combat; just ask women who have), then we might as well disband the military and save the money to hand over to the Axis of Evil, which Obama and Biden did by the $Billions.
War is hell, and civilians need to stay away from it, other than to exercise control over the Pentagon under the Constitution. Hopefully, Elon and Vivek will go through there and get rid of as much corruption and corrupt Generals and contractors as possible.
So, lets summarize Pete Hegseth:
. He had consensual sex with a woman who then had remorse. No charges.
. He was in the military in Iraq and some Iraqi’s were killed and tortured.
. He was at Guantanamo and believed the prisoners got lenient treatment.
. He has one or more tattoos. None of which is any of your business.
. He is a Christian and belongs to a church that believes in their vision of Scripture.
. He doesn’t think it is a good idea for women to be in front-line combat.
. He has degrees from Princeton and Harvard (Masters in Public Policy).
. The denizens of the Swamp believe they can roll over him and those he brings.
I am resigned to the fact that the knives are out and the ladies of the Senate won’t confirm him. How could they, once he’s been accused of rape?
I am 100% behind him Why? I’ve been to war, and I’ve experienced first hand the stupidity and lack of concern for the waste of life by the Generals in the Pentagon. I also have an opinion of what it takes to win. It will take a warrior of Pete’s character to make changes, not some bureaucrat in a grey suit.
You have no idea if he raped that woman. You choose to believe him. fine
Anyone who thinks prisoners in Guantanamo got lenient treatment is an idiot.
White Nationalist tatoos should be vetted for these positions. Otherwise, you are correct, it’s none of my business. But for this position, one should investigate the nature and meaning.
He has no experience in running things, or about defense in general.
But you are entitled to justify torture. Mind you we held and tortured at least one wrong person in Cuba, you are OK with that.
Well what if it was a family member? What if your brother was captured by Iraq and tortured.
If we can do it, why can’t they? Are you a hypocrite or not?
They were cutting people’s heads of ceremoniously and rhen uploading it to YouTube, I mean that’s not quite the same.
“You have no idea if he raped that woman.”
And neither do you, and you’re not the police. The rest of your rebuttal is nothing more than personal opinions.
So some really bad dudes are holding hostage your entire family, best friends & that one person you’ve never met and hold in the highest regard. They threaten to kill them in 24 hours if world hunger isn’t solved by their deadline. As it happens, you’re the director of counter terrorism and your team just captured the really bad dude’s leader.
So you’re telling us you wouldn’t personally start pulling teeth & fingernails with all sorts of escalations running around in your head?
I agree with closing Gitmo – Our prison system can handle any prisoner. We do not need foreign bases to house them. And more importantly a total waste of money. Lots of it. Of course the Defense Dept needs an overhaul, but that is not going to happen with someone with little or no management experience. Firing all the ‘woke’ generals is easy – I guess everyone goes and then what? The job requires real management skill, political knowledge – do you really believe all Republicans will be in lock step when he suggest bases in their district gets closed or some big defense contract is cancelled that is built in someone else’s district. There is a reason for this mess – 535 elected officials and I do not see that stat changing in the near future.
The Prosecuting attorney has no idea he raped that woman, and neither does the woman.
Regarding torture, if necessary. You may have a different idea about what persuasion is. As for whether or not a man can be broken as was proved in N Vietnam, of which I am familiar because I was a pilot there and was trained in survival under those circumstances, anyone can be broken. Some quite easily. I don’t advocate torture, but to deny it happens is naive.
Mish, your real bottom line argument about Hegseth is that he is unqualified. All the rest, such as “investigating his tattoos” is just another level of BS to justify your inability to define the actual qualifications anyone should have to run a bureaucratic organization. Just “experience”.
The real answer is: Anyone the Senate approves. The question is, why would any American want to put themselves, their family and their personal reputation through the character assassination and subject themselves to personal attack from idiots like you for the privilege of serving their country when their President calls on them.
I didn’t want to go to Vietnam for two years, but I was qualified, trained and my country needed me to do it. I went voluntarily. Pete Hegseth was a volunteer, and served with valor and distinction. You say he has no experience about defense in general. What do you think serving as an officer in a war zone provides you? Experience. You haven’t been there, but you’re an expert critic.
So, you don’t know what happened in that hotel room.
And you don’t know anything about his military experience.
Millions of people wear Christian crosses around their neck. Should they be investigated for what it means?
Why not have a senate investigation into the charges?
Into the tattoo and its meaning if any
Into his beliefs on torture
Even team Trump is annoyed by this revelation – which shows Trump rushed the process
Wait, you’re suggesting Trump’s vetting team was not aware of Hegseth’s tattoos?
That’s ludicrous. Please post the article quotes a real Trump transition team that made this statement.
Investigating someone for the religious beliefs is unconstitutional.
People with high moral consideration for those that hate and would happily kill them generally come from a place of ‘civilized’ soft comfort, insulated from the brutal side of life. Justify torture? If it means keeping brutal savages from harming my family or my countrymen – you’re God damn right.
The focus on the smears is legitimate only because the opponents will use it against him and to stop things from getting done.
It’s just a reality, that one qualification is to not have baggage that can be used against you. Trump needs to get things done. Simple.
It’s possible the rape charge was about getting a payoff from FOX.
And that’s EXACTLY what happened.
Nothing like a self professed “fundamentalist” Calvinist being flat out retarded enough to believe “it was consensual” is some form of excuse…..
One can’t make these idiots up…. It’s as if Trump is nominating participants to go on “America’s most retarded” or something…
That kind of goes both ways. The notion that you believe anything a woman says as if women never lie, exaggerate, or smear is disingenuous or naïve – reputation is the main way women attack people (other women as well as men) out of revenge.
Right, Stuk, as if you were the fly on the wall.
Absolutely on the mark! Thanks Mike.
Thanks, the overwhelming and unsurprising view is that torture is OK as long as Trump condones it.
Not everyone has the same definition of torture, for me, it’s having to endure the endless whining of extreme left-wingers.
To me it’s being forced to listen to rap music. Especially while being waterboarded.
What do you prefer to listen to whilst being waterboarded? Mna mna?
That’s disappointing analysis – you’re better than that. Please do as thorough deep dive on the complexity of “torture” as you do on markets. I would actually appreciate the thought experiment, since you seem to have a keen intellect. I agree – most just jump in a binary fashion for/against Trump. Please don’t join them. I did appreciate you actually thought through could he run a $900B organization with no experience…that is great clarity. Would likely be better to have a former EVP/CEO of LMCO/GD/etc…who aligns with the policy desire. Pete seems very committed to vets – but that’s different than being able to run DoD.
I feel quite confident that our detainees are treated with respect and dignity compared to Al Qaeda’s & ISIS’ treatment of our soldiers & civilians. I don’t remember there being video of us cutting people’s heads off. With that said, I’m well aware that our soldiers do bad things, and that’s why we have tribunals. Al Qaeda & ISIS have no limits on what their people can do to ours. That’s the difference. There’s zero moral equivalency.
Wait. Trump didn’t start any wars. How is it that you’re pinning the moral right or wrong of torture on Trump?
Why is always all about Trump? Has Trump ever answered a question about torture as to whether or not he condones it?
If only Biden’s picks had faced the same level of scrutiny from the MSM and Deep State affiliates the Democrats might actually be in charge of one of branches of government (sarc/not really).
Mish writes “sleaze is not central to the case” and then goes on to make sleaze central to the case. Patrick already listed the other “sleaze accusations against other Trump allies but Mish just assumes they’re all true. True, Hegseth never ran anything but who has ever run anything the size of the DOD? It’s not like he does it alone. Accusations of being a nationalist? I’d rather that than a traitor like Milley any day.
Dear Joe TDS TYPE II
Not central to the case means “not central” It does not mean no part of the case or that it should be totally ignored.
Now please address the central case instead of reply with bullshit.
Do you support and defend torture or not?
This idea of “civilized” war or civilized treatment of war criminals or that of terrorists is the most asinine idea ever conceived by those who would promote war for the sake of war. War should be the most undesirable option on the table for all involved.
C’mon Mish…Ad hominem attacks are beneath you.
Do I support torture or not? I’ve never been in combat or witnessed the result of war first hand. I’m not qualified to judge. But I imagine it might twist a man.
There is no proof that Hegseth personally participated in torture. Only that he would not take extreme measures in extreme circumstances off the table. Why would you? You’re basically telling the enemy not to fear you during interrogation. The answer to every question would be F#*k off.
…or cur people’s heads off with a machete and upload it onto social media.
He admitted he supports Guantanamo and the torture that occurred there.
End of story
Milley – that guy needs to face a military tribunal that delivers a court martial, dishonorable discharge & he loses all of his accrued military benefits.
Would he go for white rage or curl up in a little ball? Lol.
My lord, does anybody remember Biden’s cabinet picks getting even one tenth the scrutiny that Trumps picks have? I am getting so sick and tired of this double standard in the media. I hope Trump takes a wrecking ball to the woke mind virus as Elon Musk calls it.
Irrelevant
Has it occurred to you that possibly Biden had qualified people do all the necessary scrutiny BEFORE naming his picks? That’s what Presidents are supposed to do.
Do you have any proof of that? What were “mayor Pete’s” qualifications? Oh yeah, he was a DEI hire so the media approved, no scrutiny whatsoever.
The Norfolk Southern OH train disaster didn’t have a caboose to inspect.
Your arguments and faux outrage against the hearsay surrounding Hegseth are extremely weak, Mish.
Look, this much is not hearsay. Hegseth has openly condoned and defended torture in Cuba.
He supported pardons for those guilty of knowingly killing civilians in Iraq.
You are free to be a fool defending that, but I know full well you would have a different opinion if it was your family being tortured.
I was a pilot in Vietnam and probably killed a lot of “civilians”. Can you distinguish a Viet Cong from a civilian? They were one and the same. Can you distinguish a N Vietnamese working on the Ho Chi Minh trail from a soldier when you are bombing them? Can you distinguish a civilian with an IED or suicide vest under his garment from a “freedom fighter”?
“Hegseth has openly condoned and defended torture in Cuba.”
Um, that’s, in part, exactly what Guantanamo was setup for, right?
There are such things as rendition sites, right? Guantanamo is one big rendition site that’s not on US soil.
War is an ugly business. It always has been and always will be.
Let’s stop acting like there’s no nation on earth who doesn’t torture if & when it’s necessary. The difference between us & most nations is we have rules. You, me or anyone on the outside might not like the rules or think they’re not strict enough, but Al Qaeda & ISIS don’t have rules.
“Um, that’s, in part, exactly what Guantanamo was setup for, right?”
Yes – exactly
Thanks for making my case
“We have rules” unless you were at the J6 demo ?
Sooner or later we’ll realize destroying people’s lives on the basis of unproven allegations is not a wise way to run government.
Wait til Mish faces an unproven allegation of sexual misconduct.
Unproven allegations are a mainstay of leftist policy. Just like calling people Nazis
Fair analysis, Mike, but I would add that not having experience in running a large bureaucracy can be tempered with Deputy Defense type picks. Otherwise, all a president would ever get is the biggest pre-existing swamp monster among the “Lifers”. I do wish President Trump would stop immersing himself in the Fox News Pool.
Thanks – I did post fair analysis. My previous comments noted strong support for the troops, also lack of running anything.
But new material surfaced, in his own word. He condones and defends torture.
I don’t and only idiots do. In fact we tortured at least one wrong person in Cuba based on a similar name. Regardless, torture is always wrong. period.
Disappointing how many support torture even today. After the last 23 years of GWOT lies and gaslighting you’d think more would realize that eventually the torturers come home for YOU.
They come for us here because we are stupidly there instead of minding our own business.
Look at the dam mess we made in Iraq, Libya, Syria
All for not minding our own damn business.
Get a F’n grip on reality
Who are the good alternative candidates?
I don’t now – but I suspect at least a dozen good candidates
All I’ve ever heard from this guy is culture war stuff and macho bravado. Nothing about the strategic issues facing the US military and the gaps in our war fighting capabilities. No reload at sea for vertical launch cells.
No escort ships available for Military Sealift Command or contracted cargo ships. “You’re on your own.”
Does he have any opinions about lessons learned from the fighting in Ukraine?
The Air Force canceling autonomous drones in favor of loyal wingman type drones.
Upgrading our nuclear forces?
Production capacity gaps?
issues with the aerial refueling capability (like where are the new tankers.)
The reliance on ever more expensive but fewer aircraft / ships / submarines.
Dealing with the military industrial complex.
and on and on and on.
No, it’s all about what bathroom someone uses.
Bathroom selections are the core of a strong military!
Correct. And If I understand him totally, Tulsi should not be in the service.
Wrong. Just not in a front-line combat unit.
… because she’s a woman?
Sorry – you do NOT understand his argument about women in combat. He in fact addressed Tulsi explicitly in a podcast. It’s very difficult to get someone’s real positions in this fragmented social media world…but that was directly addressed. Again, I agree with your thesis that someone who has never gotten CLOSE to running a $900B organization, much less all the complexity of DoD…I HAVE QUESTIONS! Please stop getting into areas that you do not dig into the deep issues in a war (women, torture)…I think you could, but please do the same depth as you do with the Fed. Thanks
I don’t think many people object to banning women from front line combat, it is in the male nature to be protective of women.
1) a. Clarence Thomas and the Anita Hill pubic hair on my coke can hit b. Kavanaugh and Cristine Blasey I have to have two doors in my house and I was with “beach friends” in Rehobeth Beach (Joey B.’s beach) hit c. Trump’s cat lady can’t remember when civil sex sleeze hit d. … Etc. ad nauseum. Bullshit. 2) White Christian Nationalists … yeah, no, next 3) War crimes? Were any generals charged? Were troops given amphetamines and extended tours? Were rules of engagement for public relations or troop safety and effectiveness? Next …
We don’t need generals who have never been shot at but who gladly send young men to die with no clear aim at winning, cozying up to the MIC for board seats to run more corrupt, inept shit. Forever wars and a fat paycheck. No thanks. Hegseth is a great pick. Courts martials and free waterboarding Wednesdays for the flag officer scum on the pond.
The dude just used a quote from an “insider friend”. Had Mish brought up Pete’s untethered support of Israel, he could have at least made one point.
My insider friend said nothing that was widely known and proven.
I only mentioned a friend because he knew this at he time I commented on him but I didn’t.
But thanks for another reason.
Had I mentioned that, I would have another set of people defending him.
If torture someday happen to you or your family, would you defend it?
Mike, you’re in the weeds on this. “The fog of war” is an apt expression because warfare is not morally black and white. Killing is homicide, but killing in war is justified. Mostly. Soldiers on the ground are not the only ones who should be disciplined when crossing lines, their commanders and generals are ultimately responsible. Patton was pulled off the line for slapping a soldier. The ploy, would I defend torture if it was my family, no. I would probably go biblical. If you don’t want war crimes, don’t go to war. Sometimes, there’s no choice. A lot of times, its the MIC that chooses for fun and profit. A bigger crime than torture.
Toture is part of war. It’s that simple. We have rules. They don’t.
how does this make America great??
China looks to step into global vacuum as Trump vows to pull U.S. backhttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-looks-to-step-into-global-vacuum-as-trump-vows-to-pull-us-back/ar-AA1uC3SA
The US steps into world affairs either militarily, or by just throwing money at corrupt countries leaders. China is stepping into world affairs economically, such as building Peru a 4 billion dollar state of the art port.
“such as building Peru a 4 billion dollar state of the art port.”
Those who can, do.
America once could, as well. Now “we” “make money off our home.”
Ah but China isn’t spending it’s loaning, and loan sharking these countries.