The nomination of Fox News host Pete Hegseth to be Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense appears, at least on the surface, to be a real head-scratcher. He appears to many people to be something of a blank slate, since he lacks the kind of professional experience and public profile that candidates for that job typically have. New York Magazine, in a profile of Hegseth, prefers to call attention to soap opera-like aspects of his career at Fox, such as his opposition to women in combat, his condemnation of diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the DOD, or stupid on-air incidents that his producers should never have allowed to happen.
Of his résumé, the profile reports the following: Hegseth, 44, is an infantry officer in the Army National Guard who previously served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay and was awarded two Bronze Stars for his service. He has been a contributor to Fox News since 2014 and has served as a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend since 2016. Hegseth received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Little has been said in the news media coverage, so far, about Hegseth’s policy outlook, especially his relationship to the neo-con/pro-Zionist war party, which infects a major portion of the Republican Party. However, the comments of Michael Makovsky, president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), to the Jerusalem Post might be indicative.
