Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched into a lengthy, combative social media statement Thursday, celebrating the Pentagon’s removal of senior military leaders, the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and drawing parallels between potential impeachment efforts against him and past attempts to impeach President Trump.
The broadside came as Hegseth faces mounting scrutiny over his record 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. He insisted that the strategy “didn’t work with Trump” and “won’t work with me.”
In the video, Hegseth speaks uninterrupted for more than five minutes. He declares that narco-terrorists should “die,” describes border security and mass deportations as “military functions,” and says Christianity—the faith followed by some, but not all, of the Founding Fathers—“belongs inside our formations.”
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“But why did the Democrats and the deep state radicals really hate us?” Hegseth asks, continuing without a 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 said. “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 added. “Patriots are now in control.”
