‘Embarrassing’ Hegseth could be war’s first political casualty
When Donald Trump decided to go to war with Iran, he largely preferred to convey his reasons for doing so in short conversations with journalists who reached him on his personal phone number.
US president’s dispersed arms approach has created a vacuum Pete Hegseth steps inassumes the unofficial role of chief war spokesman.
“This was never a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight,” the U.S. defense secretary said at a Pentagon press conference on March 4.
“We punch them when they’re down, which is just the way it should be.”
At other points, Mr. Hegseth threatened to rain down “death and destruction” “from the sky all day long” and claimed that the United States was “crushing the enemy.”
Mr. Hegseth renamed his ministry the war ministry last year, and now that the United States is at war, he seems to be enjoying every moment.
But being faced with a hugely expensive conflict that most Americans do not support leaves Mr. Hegseth vulnerable.
Pete Hegseth played a leading role in the effort to sell the war to a skeptical US public – Roberto Schmidt/Getty
The White House is believed to have pushed him in front of the cameras for interviews on shows like CBS’s 60 Minutes.
“He hates shows like this,” a source said. “I only got there when Trump said, ‘Hey, can you be on 60 Minutes?’ “he would go to class”
Some even believe the US president viewed Mr Hegseth as an insurance policy and deliberately took a more moderate stance on the war while encouraging the defense secretary to keep beating the drum.
In a 60 Minutes interview broadcast on Sunday, Mr. Hegseth declared that the war was “just beginning.”
Just hours later, the US president declared that the war was “very complete”, that the Iranian army had been effectively destroyed, and that the war could end “very soon”.
“It’s very possible that President Trump set him up,” a former Trump White House official said.
“He was asked to do this interview, and if they had asked him to say things were getting worse, they would have told him to do that.”
John Ullyot, a former Marine who served as Mr. Hegseth’s press secretary last year, criticized his former boss’s “passion for performance art” and said “self introduction”.
“He may have built his career as a weekend cable news host, but it was inappropriate behavior for a defense secretary, let alone briefing on a major military operation,” he said.
“The contrast between Hegseth and General Caine’s calm, no-BS approach is frankly disgraceful. President Trump, like members of our military, deserve better.”
Mr. Hegseth is flanked by the unflappable Gen. Dan Caine, who was chief of staff during the Pentagon’s press briefings on the war.
Mr. Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine – Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Over the past two weeks, he has alternated between praising the successes of U.S. troops, vowing to destroy America’s enemies and berating journalists.
He is parodied on Saturday Night Live by comedian Colin Jost as a thin-skinned, aggressive, barely functioning alcoholic.
Colin Jost does a Pete Hegseth impersonation on Saturday Night Live – NBC
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was similarly ridiculed during the first Trump administration as an angry man yelling at the media from behind the podium. Mr. Spicer left after 15 months.
There are questions about whether Mr. Hegseth can handle issues that require more sensitivity.
Last week, he criticized the media for front-page coverage of six American soldiers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait (the number is now at seven).
“When a few drones pass by or tragic things happen, it becomes front page news. I get it. The press just wants to make the president look bad,” he said. Some said he treated wartime deaths as a public relations issue.
At some point, he will have to deal with the fallout from a Pentagon investigation. strike at girls’ school Incident in southern Iran that killed more than 150 people.
In the preliminary investigation, it was reported that the USA was responsible.
Mr. Hegseth’s broadsides at the podium reflect the Trump administration’s broader brash and unapologetic approach to the war.
Footage of US attacks on Iran has been packaged with scenes from movies or video games for social media.
Footage of the attack had been pieced together when a US Mk 48 torpedo sent an Iranian warship to the bottom of the Indian Ocean, killing 87 sailors. A scene from Grand Theft Auto.
A Pentagon source said the memes spread by the social media team were “disgusting.” “This dehumanizes the true cost of war,” they said.
If the public turns sour on the war, Mr. Hegseth may absorb criticism by “exaggerating a lot and looking out of the loop on what President Trump really thinks.”
This wouldn’t be the first time a defense minister has been thrown to the wolves over an unpopular war in the Middle East. Donald Rumsfeld was ousted by George W. Bush after difficult midterms in 2006.
In his second term, Mr. Trump has sought to avoid a media scalper by dismissing cabinet members. But last week he lost his patience and Dismissed Kristi Noemhis homeland security secretary.
When two protesters were shot to death by immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, Ms. Noem claimed they were “domestic terrorists” trying to attack federal officials.
Mr. Trump publicly opposed it, took a more moderate stance and sent border czar Tom Homan to get the situation under control.
The final straw was a tense Senate hearing last week when Ms Noem insisted the president had signed a $220m (£169m) advert showing him on horseback. Mr. Trump was reportedly angered by both the self-promotion and the claim that he approved of it.
There are warning signs for the defense minister. Like Ms. Noem, Mr. Hegseth has taken a stance that leaves him vulnerable to being undermined by the president. And his critics see him as a self-promoting, image-conscious former Fox News host.
Kristi Noem was fired as Secretary of Homeland Security on March 5 – Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
After effectively disbanding the Pentagon’s press corps last year, he has unofficially reopened it to the media since the start of the war. But photographers were reportedly banned from entering the briefing room after publishing “distasteful” photos of the defense minister.
Last year, Mr. Hegseth was reportedly trying to build a $40,000 makeup studio next to the briefing room for TV appearances. He denied the reports.
Some see the influence of his wife and close aide, Jen Hegseth, who once produced at Fox and apparently still tries to act as her husband’s stage manager.
If Mr. Trump can declare “mission accomplished” in Iran without being humiliated orfight forever”, then the defense minister will be able to bask in the reflected glory, otherwise he may find himself first in the line of fire.
Mr. Hegseth’s political survival now depends on the war and the president. Both are beyond his control.
