FOX News personality and Army National Guard veteran Peter Hegseth's latest book decries the military's embrace of “woke” ideology and helped secure President-elect Donald Trump's nomination to be secretary of defense.
On Tuesday night, President Trump, a vocal supporter of the “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host, advocated for the ouster of military leadership to force diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The selection of him as Secretary of Defense shocked political observers.
Hegseth, who served as an infantry officer in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, is the author of the best-selling book “War on the Warrior,” in which presidential candidate Trump blames a “woke military” on the draft. The crisis facing the country's military.
“Over the past three years, since President Barack Obama instilled a social justice platform, the Department of Defense has expanded social justice messages across all departments: gender equality, racial diversity, climate change, and an alphabet soup of LGBTQA+ people. “I've incorporated it into my recruiting efforts,” Hegseth wrote in his book released in June.
“There's just one problem: We don't have enough lesbians from San Francisco who want to join the 82nd Airborne. Not only are lesbians not joining, but the very same ads have traditionally filled our ranks. It turns away patriotic, Christian young men.”
President Trump touted Hegseth's book in a statement, adding that he is “tough, smart, and a true believer in America First.”
“This book exposes the betrayal of the left among our nation's warriors and how we must return to a military of meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence. ” wrote the president-elect, who frequently railed against “woke generals.”
“With Pete in command, America's enemies will be on guard – our military will be great again and America will never retreat.”
In a podcast with former Navy SEAL Sean Ryan, Hegseth said trust between service members and their superiors is being torn apart by leaders who pander to “socially correct garbage.”
“We've got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and obviously we've got to bring in a new secretary of defense, but the generals, admirals, admirals and others who were involved in DEI have woken up and are going.” he said on the Nov. 7 episode of “The Sean Ryan Show.”
“I know there were mistakes here and there on our tour, but at least most of the time I felt our senior leaders were committed to completing the mission for the right reasons. , and maybe there were strategic differences and all that. And it wasn't always perfect, but now that trust is broken, and they're not going to cater to socially correct garbage. , we need to re-establish that trust by putting no-nonsense fighters in their positions.”
The Minnesota native received two Bronze Stars and two Army Commendation Medals for his service overseas.
Hegseth remains a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard's Ready Reserve and is the president of the conservative nonprofit advocacy group Concerned Veterans of America, according to multiple news outlets.
He was considered for the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs following President Trump's election in 2016, but the job ultimately went to David Shulkin.
Hegseth ran unsuccessfully for the Minnesota Senate in 2012 and joined Fox News in 2014.
Congressional rules require candidates to be out of uniform for at least seven years to serve as defense secretary, and Hegseth's confirmation will likely require a waiver from Congress.
