Pete Hegseth, the boob of a Fox News talking head turned secretary of War, had the gall to order more than 800 of America’s most senior military leaders to drop everything, fly across the globe, and cram them into a dingy auditorium at Quantico. Why? So he could strut and preen about “warrior ethos” as if he were delivering holy scripture to a flock of recruits.
It was insulting. It was laughable. And it was dangerous. It was a big, bad, low-rated show, as Hegseth’s boss would say.
Related: Makeup, lights, camera, and action! Pete Hegseth stars in Defenseless Secretary
If there are people on this planet who don’t need a pep talk about military service, discipline, and sacrifice, it’s these men and women. Further, if there are people on this planet who could do without a rambling, thoughtless and ridiculous ramble from Donald Trump, it’s our generals.
These are highly decorated soldiers who have spent decades leading troops, fighting wars, and sacrificing for this country. The notion that Pete Hegseth, whose own military service never approached their stature, could lecture them on ethos is a sadistic joke.
But Hegseth isn’t in on the joke. He’s too busy puffing his chest and screaming “look at me, look at me, look at me!” He couldn’t care less that this absurd stunt yanked generals away from their commands, cost a fortune in travel and security, and disrupted operations around the globe.
Hegseth just wanted a stage, a crowd, and a chance to hear himself roar and make generals “obey his commands.” What a joke.
And then, as if that weren’t enough of an insult, Donald Trump addressed the gathering. That’s not coffee with cream, that’s spoiled milk poured into a cup that was never properly brewed.
Ironic, because if you watched that b-o-r-i-n-g and unhinged speech Trump gave, you needed lots and lots of coffee, as “Sleepy Don” droned on and on and on. It was nonsensical, self-praising, bashing Joe Biden, to a room full of VIP military members who are to remain nonpartisian.
These generals sat silently, maintaining the dignity and decorum their stations demand, while being talked at for over an hour, not spoken with, by two of the most pompous, pathetic men in American public life.
The danger here isn’t just the mockery of decorum. Hegseth has a record of reckless vainglory that puts troops at risk. Remember Signalgate? He broadcast details of bombing runs in Yemen to his friends and relatives, showing off like a frat boy bragging about drinking beer bongs.
Related: Pete Buttigieg: Trump Cabinet's use of Signal app for military ops is ‘highest level of f**kup imaginable’
He jeopardized U.S. forces for a cheap ego rush. That’s how much he cares about troop safety. He corralled the entire upper echelon of the military into one vulnerable spot with barely a week’s notice, all so he could play the warrior-king. God help us.
This isn’t defense. Defense protects. Defense safeguards lives. Hegseth is not about defense, he’s about war, putting lives at risk, and putting himself front and center at the expense of everyone else.
Related: Harvey Milk is an icon. Pete Hegseth is an idiot
He revels in the word, the posture, the theater of it. He blusters about purging women, gay men, lesbians, and especially transgender service members from the ranks, as if bigotry itself were a form of strength. He mistakes being mean for toughness. He mistakes loudness for leadership.
Hegseth’s has branded the Department of Defense as the “Department of War” (by the way, a name change Congress hasn’t approved, but the spineless GOP leadership will eventually comply), as though slapping on a tougher label makes him look glory-bound..
He railed against so-called “toxic leaders” who he claims watered down standards, sneering that the Pentagon had turned into the “woke department.” Then he rolled out ten shiny new decrees that include stricter fitness benchmarks, throwback grooming rules, and what he proudly called a return to “the highest male standard” for combat posts.
Notice the exclusionary “male.” Hegseth wants no part of anyone who is not white, straight and male.
Related: Like Mike Johnson, Pete Hegseth is another Republican obsessed with gay sex
In case anyone missed his point, he ridiculed “fat troops” and fumed that “it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the world. It’s a bad look.”
Oops, I missed an attribute, lean and mean like Hegseth, who struggles to do pull-ups.
And our allies and enemies alike are watching. Every time Hegseth opens his big, fat, mouth, he makes America’s military look foolish. His obsession with “warrior ethos” is just talk, talk, talk. It cheapens the institution he’s supposed to lead.
Related: Exclusion will be the norm in the military Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump want
By forcing the brass to sit through his nonsense, he paints them as props in his personal vanity play. Through no fault of their own, they are dragged into guilt by association.
And Trump rambling on and on about nothing, saying he won’t get a Nobel because a writer who writes about him will, fixation on autopen and “fine” paper, fake news CNN, stopping wars all by himself, complaining about media coverage, i.e. nixing freedom of speech. Worse, he degraded his predecessor and his aides as “radical left lunatics.”
He told our military leaders that troops should be trained - remember for war - in the streets of our cities. I can’t imagine our top brass not being aghast at a comment like that from their Commander-in-Chief.
It’s hard not to see what’s really going on here. Hegseth never became a general. Trump never served in the military — those nasty bone spurs. Hegesth never climbed to the upper ranks he now commands. And Trump calls them “my generals” because that’s what a dictator does.
And so this is part of Trump’s retribution tour, and Hegseth’s. His comeuppance, dragging the generals into his orbit as if they were pawns in his personal game. Like Trump, he thrives on vengeance and spectacle.
But karma, as the saying goes, is a bitch. Trump and Hegseth are incompetent, reckless, and consumed with themselves, and are bound to fail. Their arrogance is unsustainable. Their disregard for the safety of our forces is unforgivable. Their disrespect for the men and women who actually lead our military is intolerable.
The silver lining is that I trust our generals. I trust the backbone of our military, the people who actually understand service, sacrifice, and leadership. They will outlast Pete Hegseth and Sleepy Don.
They will not be defined by their antics. They will continue to protect this country and, if need be, protect us from them.
Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.
Charlie Kirk DID say stoning gay people was the 'perfect law' — and these other heinous quotes