MSNBC: What I learned after helping vet Pete Hegseth for the RNC in 2016

[Dennis Donovan]

MSNBC - What I learned after helping vet Pete Hegseth for the RNC in 2016

The Fox News personality represents an empty vessel that sounds and acts tough on TV. It’s not hard to imagine what about that appeals to Donald Trump.

Nov. 16, 2024, 6:00 AM EST
By Justin M. Higgins, former senior opposition researcher for the 2016 RNC

Some important things to know about Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense: He claims he hasn’t washed his hands in a decade, he vowed to “send back” his Harvard master’s degree, and he has a gig as weekend on-air talent on Fox News.

Conservatives vying to win favor with MAGA world have already begun spinning this Trump Cabinet selection as a home-run pick. Trump’s communications director recently defended Hegseth after reports surfaced of a 2017 sexual assault allegation, insisting he is “extremely qualified” for the role. (Authorities cited a police report for “an alleged sexual assault;” Hegseth did not face charges, and his attorney denied the allegations, according to NBC News). But much like Hegseth’s handwashing claims, they are almost certainly lying to themselves and their audience about his qualification for a role in the administration, presumably to win favor with Trump and his cadre of sycophants.

Upon a close review of Hegseth’s qualifications, I think he was likely chosen because he seems willing to say and do anything Trump wants, has expressed favorable views on war crimes, and because Trump thinks he looks and sounds good on TV. Unfortunately, these Trump-friendly qualities also position him as perhaps one of the least qualified picks for secretary of defense we’ve seen.

I should know because in 2016, I vetted Hegseth while working at the Republican National Committee (RNC), when Trump’s team was considering him for under secretary roles at the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs.

According to my professional assessment at the time, Hegseth was unqualified for the more junior positions he was being considered for in 2016, and eight additional years spent at Fox News has not made him any more qualified to run the Department of Defense, an organization with 2 million employees, and one that regularly interacts with foreign military leaders and is critical to our national security and global standing.

/snip

[yardwork]

1. All these Republican operatives who seem shocked...

What did they think would happen?

[cloudbase]

2. Got this from a friend in Norway:

Another juicy side-note.... There is a minor celebrity here there was reason to believe is related to the coming US defense secretary, so a big newspaper put a genealogist on the case. They are. Related. Their ancestry links to a rural area in mid-Norway. They also discovered this...

Quote :

In the family tree, it also turns out that the great-grandparents of the future defense minister are cousins. They grew up in the USA, but their parents came from Nord-Trøndelag.

- Do you know what we call it? Ancestry coincidence, says genealogist Haakenstad.
If you are not fluent in genealogist language - in good Norwegian it is called inbreeding.


===================

That might explain a thing or two

[SpikeDash]

3. Cabinate selection

Trump's appointees are trying to be confirmed as soon as possible because none want to be on Trump's diaper duty. I nominate Pete Hagseth for the job.

[SpikeDash]

4. Dirty Hands

Trump's appointees are trying to be confirmed as soon as possible because none want to be on Trump's diaper duty. I nominate Pete Hagseth for the job.