Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tried to trash U.S. Army veteran Pete Hegseth — President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for incoming Defense Secretary — but instead she got a quick lesson on who he really is.
Warren took to X to voice her grievances with Hegseth — who, in addition to his military service, has spent a fair amount of time as a host on Fox News — and she suggested in her post that his tenure at the network was the only reason Trump could have for choosing him.
“A Fox & Friends weekend co-host is not qualified to be the Secretary of Defense,” she posted. “I lead the Senate military personnel panel. All three of my brothers served in uniform. I respect every one of our servicemembers. Donald Trump’s pick will make us less safe and must be rejected.”
But as critics pointed out, Hegseth had also put on the uniform — and had served multiple combat tours — and had earned an Ivy League education to boot.
“You left out some of his resume: 20 years of military service. 2 bronze stars. Degrees from Princeton and Harvard. Active with veterans organizations since leaving active duty. You can go ahead and sit this one out, Senator,” Evan Berryhill posted.
The Federalist’s Sean Davis had a similar thought: “Pete Hegseth is a 20-year military veteran, a decorated combat veteran, a recipient of the Bronze Star (2x), and graduated from both Harvard and Princeton. You falsely claimed to be an Indian to get a job you couldn’t get on the merits. Sit down, Pocahontas.”
“You left out that Hegseth is twice a bronze star recipient, served 20 years in the military including Iraq and Afghanistan, is a veterans’ advocate, and is Ivy League educated,” another posted, going on to tie Warren’s comments to the sentiment that left so many Americans fed up with Democrats in last week’s general election. “Characterizing him as simply a Fox News host is a despicable lie of omission. This bulls*** is why your party was wiped out in the election. Are you all not capable of learning anything, or do you plan to just keep imploding?”
“By framing veteran and double bronze-star recipient Pete Hegseth as ‘weekend co-host,’ you prove you don’t respect everyone one of our servicemembers,” Margot Cleveland added.
During his military career, Hegseth — who achieved the rank of Major — served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay and was awarded two Bronze Stars. He also earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge (CIB), which is only given to soldiers assigned either to an infantry unit or to a Special Forces unit who have taken enemy fire while engaged in ground combat.
Hegseth is still a member of the Minnesota National Guard’s Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR).
