Trump’s Defense Sercretary Pick, Pete Hegseth, Is A Hardcore Advocate For Restoring Confederate Honors

In today’s episode of Wait, I Thought The Democrats Were The Ones Who Loved Slavery, Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host Donald Trump nominated for secretary of defense despite his glaring lack of experience in national defense, is shockingly (if you’re shocked by white nationalists shilling for white supremacy, that is) a staunch advocate for the preservation of Confederate honors.

According to CNN, if Hegseth is confirmed as the next defense secretary, he could advocate for the restoration of U.S. military bases named for Confederate leaders after the names of nine of those bases were renamed between 2022 and 2023 via the National Defense Authorization Act, which was passed at the end of the first Trump administration. (Trump tried to veto it because he also loves the honoring of pro-slavery warriors and has expressed contempt over the renaming of the bases, but Congress overwhelmingly overrode the veto and the bill based January 2021.) And if Hegseth’s past bemoaning over the name changes is any indication, he will definitely use his pending position to ensure that the U.S. military honors — *checks notes* — the traitors and slavers who literally divided the nation over “states’ rights” to own Black people.

From CNN:

Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and longtime Fox News host, has described the renaming efforts as “a sham,” “garbage,” and “crap” in various media appearances between 2021 and 2024 reviewed by CNN. Hegseth said the moves eroded military tradition and were part of what he characterized as a politically motivated progressive agenda infiltrating American institutions.

Hegseth, whose Senate confirmation hearings begin January 14, has criticized other cultural shifts in the military, including allowing women to serve in combat roles and gay service members to serve openly.

During his 2024 book tour promoting “The War on Warriors,” Hegseth frequently criticized the decision to rename military bases, calling it an erasure of legacy and tradition.

“We should change it back by the way,” he said emphatically while promoting his book when discussing North Carolina’s Fort Liberty – previously Fort Bragg – on a podcast. “We should change it back. We should change it back. We should change it back, because legacy matters. My uncle served at Bragg. I served at Bragg. It breaks a generational link.”

Ah yes — that woke “progressive agenda” to destroy the “legacy” of oppressors who fought to keep Black people in intergenerational bondage and servitude by declining to erect monuments in their honor, name military bases after them, and honor their flag. 

In fact, military bases no longer being odes to white supremacy is such a hot-button issue for Hegseth that he’s out here shaking his fist at retired generals who advocated for the name changes, and he’s making arguments to restore the original names that basically amount to: I need to be able to tell people where I served but I can’t do that anymore because the name is different now. 

More from CNN:

Hegseth took particular aim at retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accusing him of supporting the renaming efforts for political reasons.

Hegseth questioned why Milley, who previously commanded Fort Hood, did not raise objections to Confederate base names earlier in his career.

Hegseth’s criticisms align with Trump’s known hostility toward Milley, whom Trump has called “a f**king idiot,” and suggested could be executed for treason.

“Why wasn’t he screaming about the racist base?” Hegseth added on the June 2024 podcast. “Oh my goodness. How in the world am I gonna send troopers through basic training at a racist base? It must be changed. It’s a sham. He showed up and he did it as a sham to kowtow to all the chattering class in Washington, DC, and he should be called out for it.”

In another June 2024 interview, Hegseth referred to renaming the bases as “crap” and “garbage.”

“I emailed my company commander from my infantry training, which was at Fort Benning, which is no longer Fort Benning,” he said in 2024. “It’s Fort Moore. And Hal Moore’s a great guy. But like, there’s also a generational link that breaks when you rename Benning and Bragg. Like, where’d you serve? Bragg, where’d you serve Benning? Where’d you serve now Liberty, like, it’s just, it’s garbage. It’s all, it’s just, let’s just crap all over it.”

Yes, we absolutely should “crap all over” the “legacy” of slavery. The fact that Trump, his Cabinet picks and his supporters see it as an injustice is very telling and unsurprising.

But MAGA, right?

SEE ALSO:

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