The speech Pete Hegseth gave yesterday was probably the most disrespectful display toward our military and our veterans I've ever seen, and it's not getting enough attention for that fact.
In that speech, he said the following:
“We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that: No fatties, no tr*nnies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors — just tough, ready, committed troops.”
Think about that — if you were someone who served, or are currently serving, and you were/are a bit overweight, a transsexual, someone who had a beard (God forbid), or just thought differently than Hegseth — the multiple adulterer, sexual predator, abuser of women (go ask his mom) — then he clearly has no respect for your service.
I wonder how many “fatties, tr*nnies, beardos, and weirdos” have fought, died, or been severely wounded fighting for this country?
Hell, go look at pictures of the Delta guys; quite a few of them have beards. I guess they aren't “fit to serve” in Hegseth's ideal military?
The way in which he mocks and dismisses anyone who doesn't fit his “image” of what a soldier should be is appalling.
The fact that anyone would want to enlist in the military and serve their country is something that should be respected — I don't give a damn who they are.
But for the Defense Secretary to stand there, openly mocking and belittling anyone who's currently serving or has served who doesn't meet his small-minded and ignorant view of what a “soldier” actually is and should look like, that's one of the most disrespectful things I've seen anyone say about our military and our veterans.
And who is a “weirdo,” exactly? Because if you ask me, a clown with slicked-back, greasy-looking hair, whose first acts as Defense Secretary included installing a bougie new makeup room for TV appearances, who cheats on his wives, sexually assaults women, gives speeches like a failing slam poet, and posts videos of himself failing at working out trying to “look tough” — that's not just a “weirdo,” that's a lowlife piece of sh*t.
Then again, what should we expect?
I've said it before: no president has been more disrespectful of the military and our veterans than Donald Trump.
Someone who's mocked POWs, attacked Gold Star families, called veterans “traitors” for opposing him, wore a baseball hat to a dignified transfer ceremony, called those who died for our country “suckers” and “losers,” staged a campaign photo-op at Arlington National Cemetery against their policies of keeping that location out of politics and sacred, accused the families of the sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln of being liars for telling the media about the conditions on that ship, has repeatedly defended his war in Iran by saying “only 18 people” (not soldiers, they're just people to him) have died, and has repeatedly posted images of himself in military uniform, even though he's a draft dodger, a clear act of false valor.
Oh, and they've repeatedly tried to hide the true number of troops who've been killed or wounded in Trump's war in Iran, trying to make it appear like less of a disaster.
So, it shouldn't surprise anyone when Hegseth stands up on a stage and disrespects every single member of our military and our veterans who are serving or have served this nation who don't meet his childish, small-minded, mostly looks-based standards for what constitutes a “warrior.”
History will not be kind to these people or those who keep supporting them.