Has any cabinet officer ever had a better year than Secretary of War* Pete Hegseth? His department has pulled off three brilliant, flawless operations in a row: the devastation of Iran’s nuclear facilities, the apprehension of wanted criminal Nicolas Maduro, and now Operation Epic Fury. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio is being justly celebrated for his great work over the past year, Hegseth has generally not gotten the credit he deserves.
Glenn Reynolds talks briefly about Hegseth in his latest New York Post column:
Late Friday, New York Times columnist David French snarkily referred to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as a “walking MAGA caricature” on X.
Four hours later, Hegseth’s troops were pounding Iran in an intricate series of strikes that left its evil regime reeling.
The response to French — who has not withdrawn his sneer — was unsympathetic.
My favorite: “Let’s have a contest … you and Pete show up at Fort Bragg, see who the troops respect more.”
Is Hegseth a caricature?
To French and his ilk, maybe; but to many others, he’s a guy who gets results.
More:
But the thing is, like Patton, Hegseth not only talks tough, and acts tough — he is tough.
The raids on Iranian nuclear plants, the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from within his nation’s largest military base, the destruction of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his senior leadership — all were masterstrokes of military planning and execution.
Left-wing heads exploded when videos emerged of Pete bench pressing 315 pounds on two occasions. What a Neanderthal! No doubt those left-wingers have rarely seen the inside of a gym, but for those who have, the sight of the Secretary of War–an average-sized guy verging on middle age–benching 315 was seriously impressive. What do you believe the troops think? Would they rather be led by Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth, or by Joe Biden and some guy in a dress?
No doubt most of the credit for the brilliant military achievements of the past year goes to the senior uniformed brass, who were selected by Trump and Hegseth. But when a department exhibits peak performance, the man in charge deserves–and will get–a large share of the credit. So congratulations to Pete Hegseth, the most notable Secretary of War of recent times.
* Liberals sneer at President Trump’s “illegal” attempt to re-name the Department of Defense. But if you read the Executive Order, it specifically acknowledges that the Department of Defense is so named by law. The Order authorizes “Secretary of War” as a “secondary title” that can be used in “official correspondence, public communications, ceremonial contexts, and non-statutory documents within the executive branch.” Department of Defense and Secretary of Defense will be exclusively used in “statutory contexts.” And the Secretary is directed to identify the “legislative and executive actions” needed “to accomplish this renaming.”
UPDATE: No sooner had I posted this, than the Washington Post weighed in on my Instagram feed:
The Democratic Party is utterly demented.
