Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a lengthy, combative message on social media Thursday, praising the Pentagon’s removal of senior military officials, its rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and suggesting that any future impeachment effort against him would mirror the campaigns previously aimed at President Trump.
The broadside came as Hegseth faces mounting criticism over his tenure as defense secretary, along with speculation that he could become the next senior official forced out after Tuesday’s historic “blue wave.”
“This obsession with political theater disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponent,” Hegseth said, arguing that such efforts “didn’t work with Trump” and “won’t work with me.”
In the video, Hegseth speaks uninterrupted for more than five minutes. He says narco-terrorists should “die,” describes securing the border and carrying out mass deportations as “military functions,” and declares that Christianity—the faith of some, but not all, of the Founding Fathers—“belongs inside our formations.”
“But why did the Democrats and the deep state radicals really hate us?” Hegseth asks, continuing without pause. “Because we tore down their sacred cows, one by one, and without apology.”
“DEI is a Marxist ideology built to destroy us, so we crushed it,” Hegseth says. “Diversity is not our strength; our unity is. Men and women must be held to the same standard.”
“Patriot extremism is not a thing,” Hegseth adds. “Patriots are now in control.”
