At the start of his first term, Donald Trump did not hide his fascination with generals. After his victory in 2016, he chose as Secretary of Defense one of the most successful in the United States: General Jim Mattis, from the Marine Corps, who had held several major commands within the American armed forces and led various operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But since then, the president-elect, who is going to make his big “comeback” to the White House, has come back from the top brass. They had the unfortunate tendency to be more loyal to the Constitution, on which they take an oath as a soldier, than to his person. However, he still wants this “khaki” touch for the Pentagon. To everyone’s surprise, he appointed a former captain to occupy the strategic position of Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, 44 years old. “Undoubtedly the least qualified candidate for Secretary of Defense in American history, Paul Rieckhoff was movedfounder of the association of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, who worked with him. And the most overtly political.”
For viewers of Fox News, a conservative news channel committed to the Trumpist cause, Pete Hegseth is a familiar figure. He has been a presenter there for several years, particularly on the weekend morning show, Fox & Friends. Throughout the campaign, he did not have harsh enough words to denigrate Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, whose service records he questioned. When Donald Trump’s victory was announced, he exulted. “We sing ‘God Bless America'”, he rejoiced on the air of Fox News, the night of his champion’s victory, a broad smile on his lips, after having been in unison with the Republican crowd around him.
Pete Hegseth was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the National Guard – reserve forces – earning him two medals for his service. He regularly presents himself as a fervent defender of veterans and the right to own weapons, including certain assault rifles. He was delighted, in a video published at the end of June, that an American ammunition company had started producing AK47 bullets, in a context where “Russian ammunition is banned”.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – our armed forces will rise to greatness again and America will never back down,” said Donald Trump by announcing his choice. A graduate of Princeton and Harvard, Pete Hegseth is “tough, intelligent and a sincere believer inAmerica first“, added the president-elect. For veteran Paul Rieckoff, he is above all “a very effective and fierce media, cultural and political fighter for MAGA” [“Make America Great Again”, “rendre à l’Amérique sa grandeur”, surnom de la base fanatisée de Trump].
A “committee of warriors”
Hegseth has proven to be an unwavering supporter of Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions during his first term. He thus welcomed his rapprochement with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and defended his decision to eliminate Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. He also played the role of unofficial advisor to the president – through direct exchanges and his interventions on Fox News -, obtaining that he cancel the demotion, for war crimes, of a non-commissioned officer of the “Navy SEALs”, the elite unit of the US Navy, Edward Gallagher. Even though former brothers in arms described him as “toxic”, “completely crazy”.
A fierce slayer of “wokism”, Pete Hegseth denounced the policies of defense and promotion of minorities within the armies in a book published this year, The War Against the Warriors: The Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free (The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Freenot translated). He defends a resolutely standardized vision of military engagement. “An army founded on social justice fails to recruit the virile men who constitute our warrior class,” he proclaims.
On his account again the policy of positive discrimination. This father of seven children from three beds also did not hesitate to relay an article from an ultraconservative site linking the sinking of a New Zealand navy ship to the fact that its captain was a lesbian.
“Trump is right [lorsqu’il dit] : you cannot have a woke army”, he said, just after the interview with the businessman, on Fox News, by two other presenters and him, at the beginning of June. The former president confirmed that he intends to “get rid of” the generals at the head of the American forces. His transition team plans to set up a “warrior committee” made up of veterans to review military leaders and thank those who do not. would not meet their criteria, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Pete Hegseth could well be the man for this purge, which he is calling for. “You need to fire the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff… Any general, admiral, involved […] in any DEI bullshit [NDLR : diversité, équité et inclusion]”, he advocated during a podcast recorded after Donald Trump’s victory. In his crosshairs: the current chief of staff, Charles Brown Jr, in office for a year. Promoter of this policy in the American forces, last expressed his emotion after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 by a police officer in Minneapolis and spoke of the discrimination that African-Americans, like him, could suffer.
Where will Pete Hegseth place his loyalty to Trump? The ex-captain has repeatedly suggested that the US military could be used in the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. It could also be deployed on the streets in the event of unrest. But to take the helm of the Pentagon, a sprawling department with more than two million military and civilian employees, the Fox News columnist must still see his nomination confirmed by the Senate. It promises to be less unanimous than that of Jim Mattis. This had collected 98 votes, from all sides, in its favor, to one against.