"None. Zero. He got this job. Why? Because he's a loyalist to Donald Trump, and Donald Trump thought he looked good in front of cameras."

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/2

"President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Pete Hegseth are stuck in the logic of escalation, according to which the feeling of defeat today can be reversed by doing the first thing that comes to mind tomorrow."

~ Timothy Snyder

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/3

https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-next-coup-attempt

"Trump is surrounded by people who are making money from the war; each day of war strengthens a warmongering lobby with personal access to the president. As the war lengthens, the chance that it will be exploited for a coup attempt increases."

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity #EconomicElites #oil #gas #profiteering
/4

"Pentagon staffers have reportedly begun referring to their big boss, Pete Hegseth, as Dumb McNamara, a reference to the Secretary of Defense under Lyndon Johnson who oversaw the disastrous U.S. war effort in Vietnam. Yes, that’s pretty bad, but it’s even worse."

~ Lucian K. Truscott

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/5

https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/why-hegseths-firings-and-interference

"He’s closer to Dumb Joe McCarthy, the right-wing Republican Senator who made his career chasing commies out of government – and everywhere else – during the 1950’s 'red scare.'”

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/6

"As for the removal now of Gen. George, a West Point graduate who served in combat roles dating back to the first Gulf War in 1991 and is the highest-ranking Army officer, it’s yet one more sign that the confederacy of dunces that surrounds Trump cares more about showcasing its bigotry than acting competently."

~ Steven Beschloss

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/7

https://www.americaamerica.news/p/how-much-do-you-value-expertise

"As one U.S. official said to Axios, 'Here is a four-star general who is actively working to get equipment and people into theater—to protect U.S. forces—and you fire him? In the middle of a war?'”

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/8

"His favourite term is 'lethality'; he loves telling the armed forces how 'lethal' they are. 'We are not defenders any more,' he announced gleefully. 'We are warriors: trained to kill the enemy and break their will.' (It might seem excessive to break their will after killing them, but why settle for half measures?)"

~ Steven Poole

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity #lethality #violence #death
/9

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/04/trump-using-dysphemism-language-against-iran

"He seemed to experience a sadistic pleasure in announcing the sinking of an Iranian warship by a US torpedo, enjoying the idea of the doomed crew’s 'quiet death'.

This sort of unabashed viciousness is part of the appeal of the Maga administration for its fans, and might seem like a refreshing return to plain speaking."

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity #lethality #violence #death
/10