It was obvious from the beginning that Hegseth lacked the basic qualifications to head the DOD. Then we started hearing about his views on female, gay, and trans soldiers and on war criminals, which made things even worse. Piled on top of that were allegations about excessive drinking and running nonprofits into the ground. An article in yesterday’s NYT, however, raised issues that are far worse than any we had heard previously.
If the NYT is correct, Hegseth views himself as a “crusader,” i.e., a Christian nationalist at war with other religions and the secular American left. That is the profile of a man who would run off everyone who isn’t a white male fundamentalist Christian and turn the military into a pro-Trump militia. If that happens, autocracy is inevitable.
Even DeSantis would be a huge improvement over that. The Senate must not approve Hegseth–period.