Pete Hegseth
Appearances
Apple News Today
Inside the first major test of Republicans’ loyalty to Trump
Now, it is true and has been acknowledged that I don't have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years. But as President Trump also told me, we've repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly the right credentials.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Leaders of our European allies should take primary responsibility for defense of the continent.
Consider This from NPR
The fallout from the Signal breach begins
And that's all I have to say about that.
Consider This from NPR
The fallout from the Signal breach begins
This was not classified. Now, if it's classified information, it's probably a little bit different. But I always say you have to learn from every experience. I think it was very unfair the way they attacked Michael.
Consider This from NPR
Are Trump's military picks based on merit or loyalty?
There's a chance to course correct it, but it would take the new Trump administration going after it really hard.
Consider This from NPR
Are Trump's military picks based on merit or loyalty?
Well, first of all, you've got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
Consider This from NPR
Are Trump's military picks based on merit or loyalty?
I have a lot of respect for C.Q. Brown. I got to know him over the course of a month. He's an honorable man, not the right man for the moment.
Consider This from NPR
Are Trump's military picks based on merit or loyalty?
There is civilian control of the military. Nothing about this is unprecedented. The president deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team.
Consider This from NPR
Marco Rubio pivots to America First diplomacy
Because I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.
Global News Podcast
Talks between Israel and Hamas continue in Qatar
When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability and readiness.
Global News Podcast
Concern in Europe after Trump and Putin agree to start Ukraine talks
We recognize the incredible commitment that has been made over many years. And no country, as President Trump has pointed out, has made a larger commitment to the Ukrainian mission than the United States of America, north of $300 billion. So the United States has invested in stabilising those front lines after the aggression of Russia. There is no betrayal there.
Global News Podcast
Concern in Europe after Trump and Putin agree to start Ukraine talks
There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace, a negotiated peace.
Global News Podcast
Trump says he expects to meet Putin in Saudi Arabia
We want, like you... a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering. A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again. That said,
Global News Podcast
Trump says he expects to meet Putin in Saudi Arabia
The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.
Global News Podcast
Israel accuses Hamas of 'evil' violation of ceasefire
President Trump has said definitively that shipbuilding will be one of his absolute top priorities of this administration. If we're going to defend our interests, our allies, and put America first, we're going to have to be able to project power. That means shipbuilding. It means historic investments in our defense industrial base there.
Global News Podcast
NATO calls for unity as tensions rise with US over Ukraine
I think realism is an important part of the conversation that hasn't existed enough inside conversations amongst friends. But simply pointing out realism, like the borders won't be rolled back to what everybody would like them to be in 2014, is not a concession to Vladimir Putin.
Global News Podcast
NATO calls for unity as tensions rise with US over Ukraine
It's a recognition of the hard power realities on the ground after a lot of investment and sacrifice, first by the Ukrainians and then by allies, and then a realization that a negotiated peace is going to be some sort of demarcation that neither side wants.
IHIP News
MAGA is a Public Display of Mental Illness
For people who may not know, I mean, they give advice to the military about what is lawful and what isn't. Not surprisingly, there's been some backlash to those who are worried about their removal. One Georgetown law professor says this. Trump also firing the Army, Navy and Air Force Jags. In some ways, that's even more chilling than firing the four stars.
IHIP News
MAGA is a Public Display of Mental Illness
It's what you do when you're planning to break the law. You get rid of any lawyers who might try to slow you down. Your response to her? Yeah, I don't.
Morning Wire
SCOTUS Trump Wins & Stock Market Tariff Turbulence | 4.9.25
I think... You can't say yes. We'll move on. Well, I know everyone's concerned about Wall Street, and I'm just concerned about Main Street and getting these jobs back. Okay, let's talk about Main Street.
Morning Wire
SCOTUS Trump Wins & Stock Market Tariff Turbulence | 4.9.25
We are not going to relent. And it's only to get more unrelenting until the Houthis declare they will stop shooting at our ships. And we've been very clear, the Iranians as well, they should not continue to provide support to the Houthis. And that message has been made very clear.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Auto Tariff Relief & ABC Braces for Layoffs | Afternoon Update | 3.5.25
They're rapidly increasing their defense spending, modern technology. They want to supplant the United States. If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, We have to be strong. And that president understands peace comes through strength.
Morning Wire
Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing & Israel-Hamas Deal Nears | 1.15.25
When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser focused on lethality, meritocracy, war fighting, accountability, and readiness. Unlike the current administration politics, should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans. We are not Democrats.
Morning Wire
Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing & Israel-Hamas Deal Nears | 1.15.25
We are American warriors. Our standards will be high and they will be equal, not equitable.
Morning Wire
Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing & Israel-Hamas Deal Nears | 1.15.25
I have failed in things in my life, and thankfully, I'm redeemed by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Morning Wire
Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing & Israel-Hamas Deal Nears | 1.15.25
Why do they want to destroy me? Because I'm a change agent and a threat to them because Donald Trump was willing to choose me, to empower me, to bring the Defense Department back to what it really should be, which is warfighting.
Morning Wire
Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing & Israel-Hamas Deal Nears | 1.15.25
Senator, those are multiple false anonymous reports peddled by NBC News that run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel who I work with who came on the record.
Morning Wire
Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing & Israel-Hamas Deal Nears | 1.15.25
In those ground combat roles, what is true is that the weight of the ruck on your back doesn't change. The weight of the 155 round that you have to carry doesn't change. And so whether it's a man or a woman, they have to meet the same high standards. And Senator, in any place where those things have been eroded,
Morning Wire
Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing & Israel-Hamas Deal Nears | 1.15.25
or in courses, criteria have been changed in order to meet quotas, racial quotas, or gender quotas, that is putting a focus on something other than readiness, standards, meritocracy, and lethality.
Morning Wire
Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed & Cartel Drug Tunnels | Afternoon Update | 2.12.25
Any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and they should not be covered under Article 5.
Morning Wire
Trump Secures Border & Pritzker 2028? | 4.29.25
Pete Hexer is at the southern border with Tom Holman and our troops and our CBP patrol agents. And I just ask the question, when in American history have you ever seen a White House immigration senior official at the border with the Secretary of Defense?
Morning Wire
Trump Secures Border & Pritzker 2028? | 4.29.25
The fact that you'll see Pam Bondi, you'll see Governor Noem, now you'll see the great Alina Haba, you know, with that raid jacket on, on the raids, arresting illegal aliens, getting the cartel members, getting the terrorists incarcerated or on those flights back to Venezuela or El Salvador. Utter complete commitment to mission is what we're seeing.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Military Overhaul & Wall Street’s DeepSeek Disruption | 1.28.25
You have to rip root and branch. the politics and divisive policies out of these institutions and then focus them on creating and preparing actual future military leadership.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Military Overhaul & Wall Street’s DeepSeek Disruption | 1.28.25
And we need more uniformed members going back into West Point, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, as a tour to teach with their wisdom of what they've learned in uniform instead of just more civilian professors that came from the same left-wing woke universities that they left and then try to push that into service academies. When that changes, Senator,
Morning Wire
Trump’s Military Overhaul & Wall Street’s DeepSeek Disruption | 1.28.25
I truly believe under Donald Trump, we will have a recruiting renaissance.
Morning Wire
Jack Smith Report Released & Terror-Related Exemptions | Afternoon Update | 1.14.25
I've never been party to torture. We are a country that fights by the rule of law. What an American-first national security policy is not going to do is hand its prerogatives over to international bodies
Morning Wire
Jack Smith Report Released & Terror-Related Exemptions | Afternoon Update | 1.14.25
I was talking about standards.
Morning Wire
Hegseth’s Nomination Fight & U.S. v. Skrmetti | 12.5.24
I want people to look at Pete and judge people or understand him for who he is today and to disregard the media. That was seven years ago. And most of it is misinformation. Pete is a new person. He's redeemed, forgiven, changed. I think we all are after seven years. I believe he's the man for the job.
Morning Wire
Military Recruitment Up & RFK Targets Food Dyes | 4.24.25
I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, April 24th, and this is Morning Wire. The Trump administration is taking steps to phase out eight synthetic food dyes and issuing warnings about a popular ingredient.
Morning Wire
Military Recruitment Up & RFK Targets Food Dyes | 4.24.25
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to take fire, but the commander-in-chief is standing by him.
Morning Wire
Military Recruitment Up & RFK Targets Food Dyes | 4.24.25
Here to explain the plan is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo. So Amanda, RFK is moving very quickly to implement the Make America Healthy Again agenda, starting with American food. So first, what exactly is he trying to ban?
Morning Wire
Military Recruitment Up & RFK Targets Food Dyes | 4.24.25
Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
Morning Wire
Military Recruitment Up & RFK Targets Food Dyes | 4.24.25
So strong words there. Now, what kind of response have we seen from the food industry?
Morning Wire
Military Recruitment Up & RFK Targets Food Dyes | 4.24.25
Well, this was a huge campaign promise and I'm glad to see it happening. Amanda, thanks for reporting.
Morning Wire
Military Recruitment Up & RFK Targets Food Dyes | 4.24.25
Stocks soared Wednesday after reports that President Trump has no intention of removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq closing the day up multiple points.
Morning Wire
Military Recruitment Up & RFK Targets Food Dyes | 4.24.25
President Trump is standing by embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as new data shows soaring military recruitment after years of decline.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Budget Plan Passes & Hegseth Pens Panama Deal | Afternoon Update | 4.10.25
We had a very successful trip there. President, President Molino sends his regards, very complimentary of the U.S. as he's a great ally. And I think they want the communist Chinese out. And with our troops there partnering with their forces, we've got a chance to push them all the way out.
Morning Wire
Trump Visits Disaster Zones & Thousands March for Life | 1.27.25
The three principles I talked about are what we will bring to that Pentagon. Restore the warrior ethos in everything that we do. Rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence. We don't want to fight wars. We want to deter them, as you said, and we want to end them responsibly.
Morning Wire
Trump Visits Disaster Zones & Thousands March for Life | 1.27.25
But if we need to fight them, we're going to bring overwhelming and decisive force to close with and destroy the enemy and bring our boys home.
Morning Wire
Trump Shuffles Pentagon & Cartel Terror Designation | 2.24.25
Nothing about this is unprecedented. The president deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team. There are lots of presidents who've made changes from FDR to Eisenhower to HW Bush to Barack Obama, who fired or dismissed hundreds of militaries during his term.
Morning Wire
Trump Shuffles Pentagon & Cartel Terror Designation | 2.24.25
There were six three- and four-star generals that were moved into different positions or retired on Friday night of 160 three- and four-star generals. This is a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
For far too long, we allowed standards to slip and different standards for men and women and combat arms, MOSs and jobs. That's not acceptable.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 11-12-2024 9PM EST
He does have a military background. He's a major in the Army National Guard. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has degrees from Princeton and Harvard, and he's written about the military, including a recent book, The War on Warriors, where he argues that U.S. troops have been poorly served by military leaders who have become too liberal in his view.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 11-12-2024 9PM EST
He's a staunch supporter of Trump when he's on Fox, and he has on many occasions argued in defense of U.S. troops who've been accused of war crimes.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-30-2025 6PM EDT
This is normal communication on it. What's not normal is having a reporter in the middle of it.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-30-2025 6PM EDT
It's entirely appropriate for the inspector general to be able to look at it.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-30-2025 4PM EDT
America and Japan stand firmly together in the face of aggressive and coercive actions by the communist Chinese.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-23-2025 6PM EST
I have a lot of respect for C.Q. Brown. I got to know him over the course of a month. He's an honorable man. Not the right man for the moment.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-23-2025 6PM EST
The president respects leaders who untie the hands of warfighters in a very dangerous world. I think Dan Kane's the man to meet the moment.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-29-2025 4PM EDT
I'm humbled to pilgrim, there's no other way to put it, to this hallowed ground. Over 80,000 Marines, soldiers, and sailors from our two countries fought at Iwo Jima. More than 26,000 died here. Today, we revere their courage.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-25-2025 6PM EST
Restore the warrior ethos in everything that we do. rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence. We don't want to fight wars.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-21-2025 2PM EDT
for 14 years, I didn't just see it as working. I saw it as
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-21-2025 2PM EDT
This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations. Not going to work with me.
PBD Podcast
Signal War Plans Scandal EXPLODES | PBD Podcast | Ep. 566
what we're doing as we speak from the beginning overwhelmingly why were those details shared on signal and how did you learn that a journalist was privy to the targets the types of weapons used i've heard i've heard i was characterized nobody was texting war plans and that's all i have to say about that thank you
Part Of The Problem
Tulsi is Confirmed
The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and they should not be covered under Article 5.
Part Of The Problem
Tulsi is Confirmed
There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact. To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.
Pivot
Trump's Meme Coin Scheme, Alphabet's Earnings, and Cybertruck's Competition
Pete Hegseth would be a little like Packer.
Pivot
Trump's Meme Coin Scheme, Alphabet's Earnings, and Cybertruck's Competition
J.D. Vance is a little Dwight-ish, I think. He's a little Dwight Schrute, maybe.
Pivot
Trump's Meme Coin Scheme, Alphabet's Earnings, and Cybertruck's Competition
Oh, what was Zach Wood's character? There's something there, like intense loyalty, subscribing to a hierarchy with dedication and love. and actually being well-spoken in the midst of all of it. Yeah.
Pivot
Trump's Meme Coin Scheme, Alphabet's Earnings, and Cybertruck's Competition
Gabe. Gabe, of course.
Pivot
Signalgate, Auto Tariffs, and Trump's Crypto Empire
There's no units, no locations, no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no classified information. You know who sees war plans? I see them every single day. I looked at them this morning. I looked at attack plans this morning.
Pod Save America
Trump 2.0's Biggest Scandal Yet
Nobody's texting war plans. I noticed this morning out came something that It doesn't look like war plans. And as a matter of fact, they even changed the Title II attack plans.
Pod Save America
Biden’s Final Warning
Senator, I am not yet the Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, I would be party to any number of conversations, which I would not reveal what I have discussed with the President of the United States.
REAL AF with Andy Frisella
871. Andy & DJ CTI: Trump Unfurls Plans For Double 100-Foot Flagpoles, SCOTUS Appears Poised To Side With Maryland Parents Over LGBTQ+ Books & Amish Community Helps Rebuild Western North Carolina
They've come after me from day one, just like they've come after President Trump. I mean, I've gotten a fraction of what President Trump got in that first term.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2146 - MORE WINNING: House GOP Passes BIG, BEAUTIFUL Budget!
Republicans are hiding because they're terrified of voting against Trump's endorsed budget. But their constituents are banging down their doors and demanding answers on why they care more about reducing costs for billionaires instead of working families.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2146 - MORE WINNING: House GOP Passes BIG, BEAUTIFUL Budget!
Our challenge to House Republicans is after you pass this budget today, which cuts Medicaid by $880 billion, go home and have a town hall with your constituents. See how they feel about what you just did. If you're going to rip away healthcare from people, then you want to be able to defend your vote directly to them. But that would require the House Republican Conference growing a spine.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2204 - Rubio BLOWS UP Senate Democrats
Mr. President, add this to the long and growing list of promises made and promises kept. Ultimately, this right here, the Golden Dome for America, is a game changer. It's a generational investment in the security of America and Americans.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2204 - Rubio BLOWS UP Senate Democrats
Mr. President, you said we're going to secure our southern border and get 100 percent operational control after the previous administration allowed an invasion of people into our country. President Reagan, 40 years ago, cast the vision for it. The technology wasn't there.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2204 - Rubio BLOWS UP Senate Democrats
Now it is, and you're following through to say we will protect the homeland from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones, whether they're conventional or nuclear.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2204 - Rubio BLOWS UP Senate Democrats
So, I mean, I'm not here to defend coverage that I've already acknowledged. I wish I could do differently.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2204 - Rubio BLOWS UP Senate Democrats
I think it was considerable. I think Hunter was driving the decision making for the family in a way that people he was almost like a chief of staff of the family.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2204 - Rubio BLOWS UP Senate Democrats
It's bizarre because I think he is provably, demonstrably unethical, sleazy, and prone to horrible decisions.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2204 - Rubio BLOWS UP Senate Democrats
Well, I mean, I just look at the record. I mean, after his brother died, he cheated on his wife with his brother's widow and then got her addicted to crack. That's just one thing I could say. I mean... I don't have a lot of personal regard for him. And just based on having nothing to do with, I barely have ever met him. I've met him like once or twice. But I knew Beau.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2204 - Rubio BLOWS UP Senate Democrats
A real loss for the country, too. Not just for his family, for the country. But Hunter is not that. And the idea of letting him drive the family car, as it were, is just really, really questionable.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2137 - The Trump-Musk REVOLUTION Continues!
We welcome Doge to the Pentagon, and I hope to welcome Elon to the Pentagon very soon, and his team, working in collaboration with us. There are waste redundancies and head counts in headquarters that need to be addressed. There's just no doubt. Look at a lot of the climate programs that have been pursued at the Defense Department.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2137 - The Trump-Musk REVOLUTION Continues!
The Defense Department is not in the business of climate change, solving the global thermostat. We're in the business of deterring and winning wars. So things like that we want to look for to find efficiencies, and many others, the way we acquire weapons systems, procurement. There's plenty of places where we want the keen eye of Doge, but we'll do it in coordination.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2137 - The Trump-Musk REVOLUTION Continues!
We're not going to do things that are to the detriment of American operational or tactical capabilities.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2126 - Did China Just DRINK OUR MILKSHAKE?!
First up, is the president happy with this progress?
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2165 - National Security Bombshell & The Case For Derek Chauvin Ep.3 | The Autopsy
They were using Signal to coordinate on sensitive materials.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2165 - National Security Bombshell & The Case For Derek Chauvin Ep.3 | The Autopsy
So you're talking about a. deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again to include the, I don't know, the hoaxes of Russia, Russia, Russia, or the fine people on both sides hoax, or suckers and losers hoax. So this is the guy that peddles in garbage.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2147 - HUGE: The Washington Post SURRENDERS…To Reality!
We're doing a complete review of every single aspect of what happened with the botched withdrawal of Afghanistan and plan to have full accountability. It's one of the first things we announced at the Defense Department for that reason, sir. Certainly, General Raisin Kane, who's on his way in, was not a part of that.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2147 - HUGE: The Washington Post SURRENDERS…To Reality!
Instead, he was a part of leading the effort against ISIS by untying the hands of warfighters and finishing the job properly and then bringing our troops home. So we're taking a very different view, obviously, than the previous administration, and there will be full accountability.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2138 - Tulsi CONFIRMED, Trump Pushes UKRAINE DEAL
We will only end this devastating war and establish a durable peace by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield. We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2138 - Tulsi CONFIRMED, Trump Pushes UKRAINE DEAL
The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission, and they should not be covered under Article 5.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2144 - More Trump WINS: Joy Reid GONE!
We know who invaded who. We understand the stakes of this game. America, more than any other country in the world, has invested in helping Ukraine defend itself. Now it's time for peace, and that's what the president is dedicated to. So standing here and saying, you're good, you're bad, you're a dictator, you're not a dictator, you invaded, you didn't, it's not useful. It's not productive.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2144 - More Trump WINS: Joy Reid GONE!
And so President Trump isn't getting drawn into that in unnecessary ways. And as a result, we're closer to peace today than ever before.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2144 - More Trump WINS: Joy Reid GONE!
There's no list, Shannon. I've heard that. I've seen that very rumor. Although we have a very keen eye toward military leadership and their willingness to follow lawful orders. This is all about defending the Constitution. Joe Biden gave lawful orders. A lot of them are really bad. And it's unfortunate how they eroded our military ideological covid mandates.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2144 - More Trump WINS: Joy Reid GONE!
President Trump has given another set of lawful orders and they will be followed if they're not followed. And all these orders are in keeping with the Constitution and norms inside the military. If they're not followed, then those officers will find the door.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
They're going to start to return back, I would think, for many of them, to what they really were supposed to be doing in the first place. Oh, the incentive is having more ammo and more training, not more diversity trainings? How about we do that? I do think it's the type of institution that can turn differently than, say, a Department of Education, which we should just get rid of completely.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
Or if you weren't going to get rid of, you couldn't pull the roots out fast enough or hard enough. Because I think the core of that Pentagon would be with all of those moves. Most of your 06s and 07s and 05s and E7s and E8s who fought these wars and saw the nonsense and people serve with people who were killed will say, yeah, yeah, let's get back to the real right now. And they would do it.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
And then you switch the military academies and you say, we're not teaching DEI anymore. And then more importantly, I think you go back to standards across the military and say, whatever the standards were in 1996, those are the standards. You know, like whatever it took to pass ranger school or airborne school or become a Marine or whatever. I mean, I just and that doesn't mean going backwards.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
It means returning to colorblind standards, returning to gender affirming or gender recognizing standards, to use the wrong phrase. Men and women are different. There's a whole chapter on that. You know, one of the examples I use in the book is the Marine Corps. When Obama wanted to push women in combat, the Marine Corps did a study.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
And this study was, let's test 400 male Marines versus 300 male Marines and 100 female Marines together in a grueling exercise of tests. And shocker, the 400 male Marines crushed the whole thing. And this was a 300 and 100, not a 200, 200. I mean, this is, and what did Ray Mavis, the Secretary of the Navy, do? I don't know.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
You know, throw the study out because it's not what the political folks wanted, even though they were told if you do a study and it shows differences. Whoever was involved in any of those types of things, you can see the door and you'll be replaced by a junior officer who can be promoted more quickly.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
I mean, I didn't get into it in this book, but there's huge issues with a promotion system that, yes, it's a meritocracy, but there's incredible limits on who could move as quickly. So you've got little Eisenhowers out there who are stuck at captain rank for six years, even though they should be a lieutenant colonel based on what they're capable of doing.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
So there's things you can change there too that are long haul, but a lot of firings. And then hire the, whoever made Maverick, the movie, and say, make me, you know, a dozen ads for every branch of the military that showed just bad dudes getting to work. And get ready for an influx of young men under a commander-in-chief they respect to come on it. And guess what?
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
Don't bring any of your racist crap. It's not already an issue. My point is, that's not an issue, so we don't have to worry about the issues. The reason I say that is because that's what the left has said. The left is like, oh, it's Donald Trump's shock troops coming in.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
You know, Donald Trump's shock troops are the guy you went to synagogue with or the guy I went to church with who decided not to join the military, but instead now is working for the power company or doing construction, but otherwise would have joined. And they go to church and they have families and kids and they're productive and they work hard and they're good, honest people. And I...
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
layout in the book, those types of guys I went to school with in high school, some of which probably would have been toxic males if they hadn't been forged through the military. And then they wounded in combat, silver stars, like just amazing guys. Or they were just patriotic and they were kind of wimps.
The Ben Shapiro Show
Trump’s Team: Best Ben Shapiro Show Moments
But they went into the military and then they served 20 years and now they're lieutenant colonels and they're large and in charge and military forged them too. Right now we're not recruiting either of those groups. So you recruit those groups with a different ethos of the entire military, you could be back in the game.
The Bulwark Podcast
Adam Kinzinger and Mark Kelly: Dirty Little Secret
I'm not going to get ahead of conversations I would have with the president. However, there are laws and processes inside our constitution that would be followed.
The Bulwark Podcast
Adam Kinzinger and Mark Kelly: Dirty Little Secret
Senator, I'm glad we finally got to the topic of border security equaling national security because it's been abdicated and ignored for the last four years.
The Bulwark Podcast
Adam Kinzinger and Mark Kelly: Dirty Little Secret
Senator, I am not yet the Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, I would be party to any number of conversations, which I would not reveal what I have discussed with the President of the United States.
The Bulwark Podcast
Adam Kinzinger and Mark Kelly: Dirty Little Secret
Senator, everything we will do would be lawful and under the Constitution, but I recognize...
The Bulwark Podcast
Adam Kinzinger and Mark Kelly: Dirty Little Secret
Is that true or false? anonymous smears.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, we're going to address that. We won World War II with seven four-star generals. Today, we have 44 four-star generals. There's an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield. We don't need more bureaucracy at the top. We need more warfighters empowered at the bottom.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
So it's going to be my job working with those that we hire and those inside the administration to identify those places where fat can be cut so it can go toward lethality.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, I know there was a great deal of outreach to multiple offices. Schedules get full. There's a lot going on.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
And I welcome the opportunity in my schedule to have an opportunity to sit down.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, at Vets for Freedom, we were a small upstart. Our focus was working on Capitol Hill, going back to the battlefield, war fighters. Just the number, please. We probably had eight to ten full-time staff and lots of volunteers.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
I think we had... Over 100 full-time staff at Concern Vets for America, roughly, with thousands of volunteers. I was also a headquarters company commander, which would have been a couple of hundred. So nothing remotely near the size of the Defense Department, I would acknowledge that.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, I'm grateful to be hired by one of the most successful CEOs in American history. Should I be confirmed?
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
She's the smartest, most capable, loving, humble, honest person I've ever met. In addition to being incredibly beautiful. Don't forget about your kids. I'm supposed to talk about my kids.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Oh, an amazing mother. Yes. Of our blended family of seven.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, absolutely not. Just as President Trump is assembling his cabinet, I look forward and already am in the process of building one of the best possible teams you can imagine with decades and decades of experience outside of the Pentagon, driving innovation and excellence, and also inside the building knowing how to make it happen. Yes, sir.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
In both organizations, we had a board, yes.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, the only reason I've had success in life, to include my wonderful wife, is because of people more capable around me and having the self-confidence to empower them and say, hey, run with the ball. Run with the football. Take it down the field. We'll do this together. I don't care who gets the credit. And in this case, that's how the Pentagon will be run.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
First of all, Senator, thank you for the question. Thank you for your time. I think the first and most important thing we could have done is elect Donald Trump as the new commander in chief because past is prologue.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Our warfighters understand what kind of commander in chief they're going to get in President Donald Trump, someone who stands behind them, someone who gives them clear missions, someone who ends wars decisively. And the issue of Ukraine was mentioned and ensures new wars are not started.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Could you repeat the question, Senator?
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
I have not been involved in international security arrangements because I have not been in government other than serving in the military. So my job has been to lead men and women in combat.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
You're talking about defense arrangements. I mean, NATO might be one that you're referring to.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Status of Forces Agreement. I've been a part of teaching about Status of Forces Agreements.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
I couldn't tell you the exact amount of nations in that. But I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan and in Australia and trying to work on submarines with them. None of those countries are in ASEAN.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
There was a minor incursion under Barack Obama into Crimea, followed by nothing under President Trump, followed by an all out war. assault by Vladimir Putin into Ukraine under the Biden administration. That did not happen under Donald Trump. Donald Trump managed the Taliban.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
The Biden administration, Afghanistan collapsed tragically, ending the lives of 13 at Abbey Gate, who we remember every single day, and no one was held accountable for that. Chinese spy balloons were flying over the country. None of that happened under Donald Trump, and our warfighters understand that. So there's no better recruiter, in my mind, for our military than President Donald Trump.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, I think there are already, to the credit of, I believe the Army and other services have now caught up to that, which have piloted programs that have had some success that have allowed young Americans who want to serve in the military but can't necessarily pass the ASFAB or pass the APFT to get into basic training an opportunity to get caught up, a preparatory class.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Unfortunately, yes, we do have a problem of obesity in our country, not necessarily something that the if I'm confirmed secretary of defense is able to address. But I do think leading from the front matters. I do think having a secretary of defense that will go out and do PT with the troops matters that has been out there and done that before.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
And hopefully that's a motivating factor for young people. But it. The reality of obesity and criminal backgrounds and medical problems have long been an issue of recruitment in America, unfortunately.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
What changed is the perception of military service because of the condition of the services and, frankly, because of, in some ways, the way our schools don't teach young people to love the country anymore. And if you don't love the country, why do you want to serve that country? That's a deeper problem.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
But all of those things need to be addressed to revive recruiting, and obesity is certainly a part of it. Thank you for that.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, absolutely. A number one from day one with a mandate from the commander in chief. who received that mandate when Americans spoke out loudly and said, we want peace through strength, we want America first foreign policy, and we don't want political ideology driving decisions inside our Defense Department. That was clear.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
It's an infection that the American people are acutely aware of, which the men and women in this room have lived firsthand. I've lived it firsthand. And that's why it will be a priority. And I truly believe, and I'm humbled by this, The response we've already seen from young men and women who've decided to join the military when they had said, I wasn't going to.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
But seeing a commander-in-chief, Donald Trump, reassured them. Seeing the possibility, if confirmed, of a secretary of defense that would have their back reassured them. And so in the first couple of months after President Trump...
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
My job is to come alongside him, should I be confirmed, and continue to emphasize his emphasis on warfighting, on getting anything that doesn't contribute to meritocracy outlawed.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, that's a very important conversation, one that I've been looking at a great deal. A lot of it, just to be clear, involves classifications and understanding precisely cost and capabilities, including capabilities of enemy systems, both not just fourth and fifth, but potential sixth generation, which we've already seen a prototype released from the Chinese.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
That's a dangerous development considering at least the publicly understood condition of NGAD, which I look forward to the opportunity to looking underneath the hood on that. But ensuring fourth and fifth are capable and upgraded as necessary will be a part of our contingency.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
But when you look at what's happening in the Indo-Pacific, say operability range is going to matter because it's such a large battle space, that will all factor in decisions that are made. And that's where I feel, frankly, a little bit liberated. is that I didn't work at Lockheed or any number of, pick a defense contractor. I didn't mean to point one out in particular. Pick any. I haven't.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
I don't have a special interest in any particular system or any particular company or any particular narrative. I want to know what works. I want to know what defeats our enemies, what keeps us safe, what deters them, what keeps our enemies up at night. Whatever that is, I want more of it. And I want to invest in it. And I know that's the view that President Trump has as well.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
I look forward to working with you on that, Senator, because unmanned will be a very important part of the way future wars are fought. Just the idea of survivability for a human being drives cost and time in ways that unmanned systems do not. But I look forward to that conversation, Senator.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, veterans deserve the benefits they've earned. I have... been in many battles with traditional veterans organizations over differences of opinion about how to deliver those services, including veterans choice.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
VSOs is a very broad term. We were a VSO also, ma'am. But some of those services took a traditionally bureaucratic approach.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, I think we should be ashamed as a nation of the amount of veterans that commit suicide because they hit a brick wall. They commit suicide because they hit a brick wall of the bureaucracy of the VA. And the reformers are not courage enough.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, with all due humility, I don't know that there's anyone in this room over the last 20 years that have worked harder to ensure that our veterans are taken care of. It has been a passion of my life alongside with so many on this dais to make sure that veterans receive, and it is a recruiting crisis.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
It's a benefit they've earned and a hand up to the next chapter of their life. But these are your words then.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, the world has had, our friends in the world have had no better ally. Our allies have had no better friend than President Donald Trump, who's reinvigorated a NATO alliance, who's stood behind Israel in every way, in ways this administration has not. He has ensured that the NATO alliance has become far more robust. He worked with allies in the Pacific as well.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Best guidance to the president of the United States on matters like that.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Well, Senator, thank you for the question. First and foremost, up front, you have to tear out DEI and CRT initiatives root and branch out of institutions. 100%.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
And then you have to put in Army, Navy, and Air Force secretaries and others, civilian positions at the helm, who are committed to the same priorities that the President of the United States is, and if confirmed, the Secretary of Defense will be. Send a clear message that this is not a time for equity. Equity is a very different word than equality. Equality is the bedrock of our military.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Men and women, duty positions in uniform, black, white, doesn't matter. We treat you equally based on who you are in the image of God as an individual. And we all get the same bad haircuts. You're not an individual. You're part of a group. Equity prescribes some sort of an outcome based on differing attributes that we have that divide us. What skin color are you? What gender are you?
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
And then infuse that into institutions which manifest in things like quotas, formal or informal, which does what to morale? sends it in the tubes, and it makes people feel like they're being judged by something other than how good they are at their job, which is poisonous inside institutions.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, I will commit to this because the commander in chief has committed to this, that not only will they be reinstated, they will receive an apology, back pay and rank that they lost because they were forced out due to an experimental vaccine.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, I was not involved in that.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, the overwhelming majority of anyone who's worked for me, including the on-the-record statements that have been submitted to this, with their name on it, on the record, men and women who worked with me every day are the overwhelming preponderance of evidence that testify to my leadership and professionalism in leading Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
My leadership has been completely impugned on these veterans organizations. that did fantastic work on behalf of men and women fighting overseas and advocating, and we managed our financial books with integrity across the board.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
All anonymous, all false, all refuted by my colleagues... who I worked with for 10 years at 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, all I'm pointing out is the false claims against me.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
I really do think it comes back to strong, clear leadership. patriotic, pro-American leadership that says we're not going to focus on all the other political prerogatives. That's why we all have political perspectives. I said this before and I'll say it again. In uniform, none of that matters. You wear green, you wear blue, you bleed red. That's it. Who you vote for doesn't matter.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
But when the perception of that changes, then you don't want people deciding whether to serve based on a political party in power. That's a dangerous thing for continuity inside your military. And it's fragile right now. President Trump. And if I'm confirmed with my leadership, we're going to restore the continuity of an apolitical military that acts decisively and only based on merit.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
They sound basic, but they're fundamental.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, I only support hiring and promoting and admitting the best and brightest, whatever their background is.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
No, Senator. I know in any one of my jobs, if I had decided to go AWOL for even a day or two in uniform or around that, that would have been a concern.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, thank you for your service. But I reject the premise that President Trump is going to be giving illegal orders.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, anybody of any party could give an order that is against the Constitution or against the law.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
I start by saying I reject the premise that President Trump...
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to charliekirk.com.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, I'm not familiar with the article you're pointing to in 2013, but it underscores my argument completely. Because in that 2013 argument, I was talking about standards. Standards are what it's always been about, Senator.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Always been about Senate standards.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, again, I very much appreciate you bringing up my comments from 2013, because for me, this issue has always been about standards. And unfortunately, because of some of the people that have been in political power for the last four years, priorities other than standards, lethality, and meritocracy have driven decision making.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, the concerns I have and the concerns that many have had, especially in ground combat units, is that in pursuit of certain percentages or quotas, standards have been changed. And that makes the combat more difficult for everybody involved.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
Senator, it's not even a question I've thought about because it's not one that, it's not one, my motivation for this job has never been about what could conceivably come next.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing Watch Party
I would consult with the president about what the policy should be at the defense department.
The Charlie Kirk Show
China Should Have Read "The Art of the Deal"
For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to CharlieKirk.com.
The Charlie Kirk Show
China Should Have Read "The Art of the Deal"
Charlie, what you've done is incredible here. Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.
The Charlie Kirk Show
China Should Have Read "The Art of the Deal"
China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal, and China will not weaponize this canal. Together with Panama in the lead, we will keep the canal secure and available for all nations through the deterrent power of the strongest, most effective, and most lethal fighting force in the world. We will do this in partnership with Panama.
The Charlie Kirk Show
China Should Have Read "The Art of the Deal"
Together, we will take back the Panama Canal from China's influence. And we will do this along with other capable, like-minded allies and partners. This is what peace through strength looks like.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' Reaction
Here at the Defense Department, we are restoring the warrior ethos, and that means we've got to be fit to fight inside all of our formations. That starts with standards and going back to basics. So for decades, the military I joined, there were different male and female physical standards because men and women are different. And that's understandable.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' Reaction
But there were certain jobs, combat MOSs, that were only for men. And so you had a male standard. Then in 2015, under the Obama administration, against the advice of the military services, opened up all those combat MOSs to males and females. Fine, if that's their decision. But they never changed the standards in a lot of those roles.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' Reaction
So you still had higher standards for men than for women in a lot of those combat MOSs. Some changed it, but not all did. We're fixing that.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' Reaction
We're ensuring that any combat position across any of the services, and the services are evaluating that, has the same standard for men and women, which means anybody can join. But the standard is to meet what it takes to do that combat job. Rigorous physical standards so that your sons and daughters, those that join our military, have the best possible units, the most lethal units.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' Reaction
So this is a standard review looking at combat units, looking at men and women. No standards will be lowered only at the highest level. And we look forward to all our best warriors joining those units. It's a review that's important, long overdue, and the kind of thing we promised inside the Trump administration.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' Reaction
For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to CharlieKirk.com.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' Reaction
Don't rely on a corporation that don't want you, in a sense.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' Reaction
Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
basically says, yes, ma'am, women in our military, as I have said publicly, have and continue to make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefield.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
But just saying when I'm talking about that issue, it's not about the capabilities of men and women. It's about standards.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Standards that we, unfortunately, over time, have seen eroded in certain duty positions, certain schools, certain places, which affects readiness, which is what I care about the most.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Senator, that is a correct characterization.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
It was a false claim then and a false claim now.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Anonymous smears.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Absolutely not. Anonymous smears.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Not three million.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
I think we had over 100 full-time staff at Concerned Vets for America, roughly with thousands of volunteers. So 100 people. I was also a head
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Depends on the magazine, but standard issue is 30, Senator.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
We fight enemies also, Senator, as our generation understands, that play by no rules. They use civilians as human shields. So are you saying that the Geneva Convention should not be observed? We don't do that. We follow rules. We follow rules, but we don't need burdensome rules of engagement that make it impossible for us to win these wars.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
We are a country that fights by the rule of law and our men and women always do. And yet we have too many people here in air conditioned offices that like to point fingers at the guys in dark and dangerous places. The gals in helicopters in enemy territory who are doing things that people in Washington, D.C. would never dare to do or send in.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Well, thank you, Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reid, and all the members of this committee for this opportunity today.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with this committee, senators from both parties, to secure our nation.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Thank you to my incredible wife, Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Including our seven wonderful kids, Gunner, Jackson.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Morality, meritocracy, war fighting, accountability and readiness.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
The Department of Defense under Donald Trump will achieve peace through strength.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans. We are not Democrats. We are American warriors. Our standards will be high and they will be equal, not equitable. That's a very different word.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
Well, interestingly enough... Now, it is true and has been acknowledged that I don't have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years.
The Daily
Drunkenness, Women and Wokeness: A Dramatic Confirmation Hearing for Pete Hegseth
But as President Trump also told me, we've repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly the right credentials. whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives. And where has it gotten us? He believes, and I humbly agree, that it's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent.
The Daily
He Was America’s Highest-Ranking Military Officer. Then Came the War on D.E.I.
From the White House down to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to Secretary of Defense, they're peddling gender nonsense, race nonsense that divides troops against each other, environmental stuff, electric tanks.
The Daily
He Was America’s Highest-Ranking Military Officer. Then Came the War on D.E.I.
Yes. The next commander-in-chief, if it's Donald Trump, and I pray it is, needs to clean house. I mean, clean house of these woke generals.
The Daily
He Was America’s Highest-Ranking Military Officer. Then Came the War on D.E.I.
No more of we need X number of this racial background as fighter pilots. Like that's C.Q. Brown's a great example. He's the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs. And he was obsessed with the color and background of Air Force pilots.
The Daily
Pete Hegseth Was Toast. The MAGA Swarm Came to His Rescue.
And I also want an opportunity here to clarify comments that have been misconstrued that I somehow don't support women in the military.
The Daily
Pete Hegseth Was Toast. The MAGA Swarm Came to His Rescue.
What you're seeing right now with me. is the art of the smear. It is the classic art of the smear.
The Daily
Pete Hegseth Was Toast. The MAGA Swarm Came to His Rescue.
Take whatever tiny kernels of truth, and there are tiny, tiny ones in there, and blow them up. into a masquerade of a narrative about somebody that I am definitely not.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
Well, Black Lives Matter, trying to destroy Christmas as we know it. It's actually not hyperbole. Indoctrinating our kids, opening our borders, canceling individuals. Wuhan virus, Chinese virus, maybe even the Kung flu. Apparently, there's new lesbian characters. It's a female empowerment. Can the Black Panther be played by a white guy?
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
Pete had his plans for winning the culture war ready. Any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the DEI woke shit has got to go. I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. His confirmation seemed like a sure thing.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
A Hegseth acquaintance describes a breakfast they had with Hegseth in the spring of 2023. We met at Fox News in New York for breakfast, and he suggested we go across the street to a bar. It was like 10 in the morning. Then he ordered two gin and tonics at the same time for himself. Then he had a third gin and tonic.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
I don't think I need to, sir. Why not? Because the men and women watching understand. Well, perhaps some of my colleagues don't understand. It would be a JAG officer who puts his or her own priorities in front of the warfighters. Their promotions, their medals, in front of having the backs of those who are making the tough calls on the front lines. Thank you, Senator. Interesting.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
Our seven wonderful kids. Gunner, Jackson, Peter Boone, Kensington, Luke, Rex. Sorry, that's a lot of them. And Gwendolyn.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
The DEI policies of today are not putting meritocracy first. Every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy. Getting anything that doesn't contribute to meritocracy out of how decisions are made inside the Pentagon. Ensuring readiness and meritocracy is front and center. Meritocracy, meritocracy, meritocracy.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
I've always wanted to do this. Okay. I will not be abstaining from alcohol. Maybe if I do well, I'll get a pint. A little bit of champagne. There you go.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash
But it fixes the problem in the morning because then you have a little bit more champagne and then your problem goes away.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Trump Gets "Hot" for Kennedy Center, RFK Confirmed, Eggflation Rampant | Brady Corbet
We must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Hapless, Goon Democrats Face-Plant At Hegseth’s Hearing (Ep. 2401)
I might get it once. It's good. It feels like bread.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Hapless, Goon Democrats Face-Plant At Hegseth’s Hearing (Ep. 2401)
Smells like bread.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Hapless, Goon Democrats Face-Plant At Hegseth’s Hearing (Ep. 2401)
Yes, we have. We have. We should continue. You know what? It's up in the air. You and I decided we need to start eating healthier. You said no, you have no interest. I should eat more vegetables, and I don't.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Hapless, Goon Democrats Face-Plant At Hegseth’s Hearing (Ep. 2401)
Senator, as the president has stated, I don't disagree with the overturn of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Hapless, Goon Democrats Face-Plant At Hegseth’s Hearing (Ep. 2401)
Senator, in both of the organizations I ran, we were always completely fiscally responsible for the money that we had. Yes or no, did you lead an audit? And the way my leadership has been stated has been completely mischaracterized. What are you afraid of?
The Dan Bongino Show
The Hapless, Goon Democrats Face-Plant At Hegseth’s Hearing (Ep. 2401)
Senator, every part of my leadership of these organizations has been misrepresented from top to bottom.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Hapless, Goon Democrats Face-Plant At Hegseth’s Hearing (Ep. 2401)
Senator, those are multiple false anonymous reports peddled by NBC News that run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel who I work with who came on the record and said they've never seen that.
The Dan Bongino Show
Is Something Big About To Go Down In Washington? - GUEST: Dr. Marty Makary | Episode 51
You see, the American soldier fights not because he hates what's in front of him, but because he loves what's behind him. We honor his selfless sacrifice, his courage, his duty and his love. As Jesus taught his disciples, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. This love is a gift given freely. And yet this gift comes with responsibility to those living.
The Dan Bongino Show
Is Something Big About To Go Down In Washington? - GUEST: Dr. Marty Makary | Episode 51
We owe a duty to those who have fallen in war. They have paid a debt we can never repay. And for that, we owe gratitude and remembrance.
The Dan Bongino Show
Something Suspicious Is Happening At The Pentagon | Episode 27
You know, what a big surprise that a bunch of, a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax. Won't get back their Pulitzers. They got Pulitzers for a bunch of lies. Pulitzers for a bunch of lies. And on hoaxes. Time and time and time again. And as they peddle those lies, no one ever calls them on it.
The Dan Bongino Show
Something Suspicious Is Happening At The Pentagon | Episode 27
See, this is what the media does.
The Dan Bongino Show
Something Suspicious Is Happening At The Pentagon | Episode 27
And on hoaxes time and time and time again. And as they peddle those lies, no one ever calls them on it. See, this is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations. Not going to work with me.
The Dan Bongino Show
Something Suspicious Is Happening At The Pentagon | Episode 27
Because we're changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of war fighters. And anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn't matter. So I'm happy to be here at the Easter Egg Roll with my dad and my kids. Because, you know, this is what we're doing it for.
The Dan Bongino Show
Something Suspicious Is Happening At The Pentagon | Episode 27
these kids right here this is why we're fighting the fake news media this is why we're fighting slash and burn democrats this is why we're fighting hoaxsters hoaxsters this group no no this group right here full of hoaxsters that peddle anonymous sources from leakers with axes to grind and then you put it all together as if it's some news story and when we know it we know exactly what it is
The Dan Bongino Show
The Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Presidency (Ep. 2409)
I'm honored to have Pete. I think Pete's going to be a great Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. And we're honored to have him. I couldn't hear you. Did you say you were speaking to him on the phone? No, I did speak to Pete, yeah, in the plane. in the helicopter. I think Pete is going to be a great secretary of defense. Are you disappointed that McConnell voted no? I didn't even know that.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Presidency (Ep. 2409)
No, I don't know that. I just heard that we won. Winning is what matters, right?
The Dan Bongino Show
The Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Presidency (Ep. 2409)
I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID so that the people have a chance to vote. And I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state. Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Presidency (Ep. 2409)
I'll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA or maybe getting rid of FEMA. I think, frankly, FEMA's not good. I think when you have a
The Dan Bongino Show
The Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Presidency (Ep. 2409)
problem like this, I think you want to go and whether it's a Democrat or Republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA and then FEMA gets here and they don't know the area. They've never been to the area and they want to give you rules that you've never heard about. They want to bring people that aren't as good as the people you already have.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Presidency (Ep. 2409)
And FEMA's turned out to be a disaster. And you could go back a long way. You could go back to Louisiana. You could go back to some of the things that took place in Texas. It turns out to be the state that ends up doing the work. It just complicates it. I think we're going to recommend that FEMA go away. And we pay directly. We pay a percentage to the state. But the state should fix this.
The Dan Bongino Show
The Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Presidency (Ep. 2409)
If the state did this from the beginning, it would have been a lot better situation. I think you guys agree with that, right?
The Dan Bongino Show
The Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Presidency (Ep. 2409)
You know, they all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security to all the people you're talking about. They can go out. I can give them some good numbers of very good security people. They can hire their own security. They all made a lot of money. Fauci made a lot of money. They all did. So if they felt that strongly, I think that certainly I would not take responsibility.
The Dan Bongino Show
Deranged Libs Go All In For Ukraine War and Govt. Corruption (Ep. 2423)
The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission, and they should not be covered under Article 5.
The Dan Bongino Show
Deranged Libs Go All In For Ukraine War and Govt. Corruption (Ep. 2423)
There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact. To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.
The Dan Bongino Show
Biden Resurfaces In Mind Boggling Video | Episode 40
Here we go. Here at the Defense Department, we continue to relentlessly pursue the president's agenda, especially on readiness. He put out an executive order a week into his presidency stating the prioritizing military excellence and readiness that expressing a false gender identity divergent from an individual sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service. We agree.
The Dan Bongino Show
Biden Resurfaces In Mind Boggling Video | Episode 40
And so we implemented that policy. It was challenged in court. And of course, we appealed. And two days ago at the Supreme Court, our policy was upheld. And so we're going to continue to advance that policy here at the Defense Department. So in accordance with policy now reinstated, service members who have a current diagnosis or history of or exhibit symptoms
The Dan Bongino Show
Biden Resurfaces In Mind Boggling Video | Episode 40
consistent with gender dysphoria, may elect to separate voluntarily. Voluntarily. And then eventually involuntarily, if necessary. This is the president's agenda. This is what the American people voted for. And we're going to continue to relentlessly pursue it.
The Journal.
Why Trump Wants Ukrainian Minerals
We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.
The Journal.
Why Trump Wants Ukrainian Minerals
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also discussed the deal on Fox on Sunday. Zelensky should come to the table because this economic partnership is an important thing for the future of his country, and we hope that he will very soon.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: Group Chat Fallout
As it said atop of that, everybody's seen it now, team update. is to provide updates in real time. General updates in real time, keep everybody informed. That's what I did. That's my job.
The Matt Walsh Show
Ep. 1515 - Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing
My critiques, Senator, recently and in the past, and from personal experience, have been instances where I've seen standards lowered, and you mentioned 11 Alpha, 11 Bravo, MOS, places in units, and it...
The Matt Walsh Show
Ep. 1515 - Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing
The book that has been referenced multiple times here, The War on Warriors, I spent months talking to active duty service members, men and women, low ranks, high ranks, combat arms and not combat arms, and what each and every one of them told me, and which personal instances have shown me, is that in ways direct, indirect, overt, and subtle, standards have been changed inside infantry training units,
The Matt Walsh Show
Ep. 1515 - Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing
ranger school, infantry battalions, to ensure that commanders meet... Give me one example.
The Matt Walsh Show
Ep. 1515 - Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing
Commanders meet quotas to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted, and that disparages those women who are incredibly capable of meeting that standard.
The Matt Walsh Show
Ep. 1515 - Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing
Oh, my goodness, Senator. Absolutely. At Concerned Veterans for America, we created the Fixing Veterans Healthcare Task Force, a bipartisan task force that had never been done before to create policy, to drive policy change on Capitol Hill that organizations fought ferociously against. We got the VA Accountability Act passed and the Mission Act passed in a way that a nonprofit—
The Matt Walsh Show
Ep. 1515 - Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing
of our size, veterans organization, has never done. Thank you. And that's testified in all the letters that we put forward to the committee, which are on the record.
The Matt Walsh Show
Ep. 1515 - Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing
Well, perhaps some of my colleagues don't understand. It would be a JAG officer who puts his or her own priorities in front of the warfighters. Their promotions, their medals, in front of having the backs of those who are making the tough calls on the front lines.
The Matt Walsh Show
Ep. 1515 - Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing
Thank you very much.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Disturbing New Details About Would-Be Trump Assassin, Coal EOs, Hegseth Warns China: AM Update 4/9
China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal. And China will not weaponize this canal.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Disturbing New Details About Would-Be Trump Assassin, Coal EOs, Hegseth Warns China: AM Update 4/9
China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal. And China will not weaponize this canal. Together with Panama in the lead, we will keep the canal secure and available for all nations through the deterrent power of the strongest nation. most effective, and most lethal fighting force in the world. We will do this in partnership with Panama.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Disturbing New Details About Would-Be Trump Assassin, Coal EOs, Hegseth Warns China: AM Update 4/9
Together we will take back the Panama Canal from China's influence. And we will do this along with other capable, like-minded allies and partners. This is what peace through strength looks like.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Disturbing New Details About Would-Be Trump Assassin, Coal EOs, Hegseth Warns China: AM Update 4/9
President Trump today recognizes the canal's rightful place as the center of our shared hemisphere. It connects two continents and two oceans, transporting over $250 billion in goods per year and 40% of U.S. shipping. 70% of the ships that pass through this canal are going to or from U.S. ports. It saves nearly 8,000 miles for shipping traveling between our coasts.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants: AM Update 5/7
We're back with more DOD reforms. This one is general and flag officer reductions. That's the official title. My title is less generals, more GIs. It's a historic one, and it's in keeping with President Trump's commitment to achieving peace through strength. We're going to shift resources from bloated headquarters elements to our warfighters. Let's take a bit of a trip down memory lane.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants: AM Update 5/7
In history, when we were fighting across the globe during World War II, we had a force that was 12 million strong. For that 12 million man element, we had 17 four and five star generals. Today, we have 2.1 million service members with 44 four star and flag officers. So it used to be a ratio of one general to 6,000 troops. Today, it's one general to 1,400.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants: AM Update 5/7
More generals and admirals does not equal more success. Now, this is not a slash and burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers. Nothing could be further from the truth. This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff with one goal, maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants: AM Update 5/7
When President Trump asked me to take this job, he told me, well, one key thing, but really two. The first was, Pete, you're going to have to be tough as shit. They're going to come after you. Boy, he was not kidding about that one. This job requires a steel spine and that's fine. My job's easy compared to what you do.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants: AM Update 5/7
We're doing the work on behalf of the American people and the American war fighter. But then the president, after he said that, went on to say, I need you and I want you to restore the warrior ethos in our military full stop. And that's been my first priority since day one. We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind. No more pronouns. No more climate change obsession. No more
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants: AM Update 5/7
Emergency vaccine mandates, no more dudes in dresses. We're done with that shit. We're focused on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants: AM Update 5/7
When President Trump asked me to take this job, he told me, they're going to come after you. Boy, he was not kidding about that one.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Trump's Funny and Powerful Address, and Dems' Embarrassing Response, with Rich Lowry, Mark Halperin, and Alvin Lui | Ep. 1019
Senator, anybody of any party could give an order that is against the Constitution or against the law.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Trump's Funny and Powerful Address, and Dems' Embarrassing Response, with Rich Lowry, Mark Halperin, and Alvin Lui | Ep. 1019
I start by saying I reject the premise that President Trump will be giving any illegal orders at all.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Trump's Funny and Powerful Address, and Dems' Embarrassing Response, with Rich Lowry, Mark Halperin, and Alvin Lui | Ep. 1019
Certainly, I have been involved in conversations relating to doing things this administration has not, which is secure the southern border.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn's Response to Clooney, Hegseth Saga Gets Personal, and Stopping Alzheimer's, with Rich Lowry, MBD, and Dr. Dale Bredesen | Ep. 1055
I mean, I've gotten a fraction of what President Trump got in that first term. What he's endured is superhuman. It's not hard for me to do this job. I know exactly why I'm here, to bring warfighting and the warfighting ethos back to the Pentagon, to rip out the insidious ideologies and not compromise and not back down.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn's Response to Clooney, Hegseth Saga Gets Personal, and Stopping Alzheimer's, with Rich Lowry, MBD, and Dr. Dale Bredesen | Ep. 1055
to bring in new press voices into the Pentagon, which we've done, to reestablish standards and accountability, to not tolerate leakers, to 100 percent operational control of our border, to get rid of trans lunacy in the military. We haven't backed down. So here's the thing. A lot of people come to Washington and they just play the game.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn's Response to Clooney, Hegseth Saga Gets Personal, and Stopping Alzheimer's, with Rich Lowry, MBD, and Dr. Dale Bredesen | Ep. 1055
And it's you punch their ticket and get along to go along and, you know, start doing meet the press and and go into the Council on Foreign Relations and spending time with all the new cocktail sipping crowd. That's not why I'm here. I'm here because President Trump asked me to bring warfighting back to the Pentagon every single day. Right. That is our focus.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn's Response to Clooney, Hegseth Saga Gets Personal, and Stopping Alzheimer's, with Rich Lowry, MBD, and Dr. Dale Bredesen | Ep. 1055
And if people don't like it, they can come after me. No worries. I'm standing right here. The war fighters are behind us. Our enemies know they're on notice. Our allies know we're behind them. And that in this dangerous world for the American people is what it's all about.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth Goes On Offense, SCOTUS Arguments on LGBT Curriculum, FDA Fights Food Dyes: AM Update 4/23
They've come after me from day one. just like they've come after President Trump. I mean, I've gotten a fraction of what President Trump got in that first term. What he's endured is superhuman. It's not hard for me to do this job.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth Goes On Offense, SCOTUS Arguments on LGBT Curriculum, FDA Fights Food Dyes: AM Update 4/23
I know exactly why I'm here, to bring warfighting and the warfighting ethos back to the Pentagon, to rip out the insidious ideologies and not compromise and not back down.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth Goes On Offense, SCOTUS Arguments on LGBT Curriculum, FDA Fights Food Dyes: AM Update 4/23
to bring in new press voices into the Pentagon, which we've done, to reestablish standards and accountability, to not tolerate leakers, to 100 percent operational control of our border, to get rid of trans lunacy in the military. We haven't backed down. So here's the thing. A lot of people come to Washington and they just play the game.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth Goes On Offense, SCOTUS Arguments on LGBT Curriculum, FDA Fights Food Dyes: AM Update 4/23
And it's you punch their ticket and get along to go along and, you know, start doing meet the press and and go into the Council on Foreign Relations and spending time with all the new cocktail sipping crowd. That's not why I'm here. I'm here because President Trump asked me to bring warfighting back to the Pentagon every single day. Right. That is our focus.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth Goes On Offense, SCOTUS Arguments on LGBT Curriculum, FDA Fights Food Dyes: AM Update 4/23
If one or two of these guys is exonerated after an investigation, great. That's what investigations are for. But we took it seriously. It led to some unfortunate places, people I have known for quite some time, but it's not my job to protect them. It's my job to protect national security, the president of the United States, and let the investigation go where it is.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth Goes On Offense, SCOTUS Arguments on LGBT Curriculum, FDA Fights Food Dyes: AM Update 4/23
So when that evidence is gathered sufficiently, and this has all happened very quickly, it will be handed over to DOJ, and those people will be prosecuted if necessary.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Hegseth Goes On Offense, SCOTUS Arguments on LGBT Curriculum, FDA Fights Food Dyes: AM Update 4/23
They've come after me from day one, just like they've come after President Trump. It's not hard for me to do this job. I know exactly why I'm here.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, one of the things that President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hand. And so I would never in this public forum give one way or another direct what orders the president would give me in any context.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, I've always been personally pro-life. I know President Trump has as well, and we will review all policies. I'm not hearing answers to my questions, Mr. Chairman.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, in both of the organizations I ran, we were always completely fiscally responsible.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Did you lead an audit?
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Did you lead an audit?
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, every part of my leadership of these organizations has been misrepresented from top to bottom.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
I have not been involved in international security arrangements because I have not been in government other than serving in the military. So my job has been to lead men and women in combat.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
You're talking about defense arrangements. I mean, NATO might be one that you're referring to. Status of Forces Agreement would be one of them. Status of Forces Agreement. I've been a part of teaching about Status of Forces Agreement inside Afghanistan.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
I couldn't tell you the exact amount of nations in that. But I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan and in AUKUS with Australia trying to work on submarines with them.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
That President Trump is going to be giving illegal orders?
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, anybody of any party could give an order that is against the Constitution or against the law.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
I start by saying I reject the premise that President Trump will be giving any illegal orders at all.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, I was there on the ground. I saw that. I understand and I respect that. I've been there. I understand the level of threat that was involved in that moment. I also understand legality and the Constitution and the laws of what you have.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
I'm not going to put words in the mouth of Secretary Esper or anybody else.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
I'm not scared of anything, Senator. Then say yes or no. You can say no.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, I'm glad we finally got to the topic of border security equaling national security because it's been abdicated and ignored for the last four years.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, I am not yet the Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, I would be party to any number of conversations.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Which I would not reveal what I have discussed with the President of the United States.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, everything we will do would be lawful and under the Constitution. But I recognize...
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, those are multiple false anonymous reports peddled by NBC News that run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel who I work with who came on the record.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
I've made this commitment on behalf of the men and women I'm serving.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
I've made this commitment on behalf of the men and women I'm serving. servant because it's the most important deployment of my life.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
Senator, I was in the Washington, D.C. National Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those events.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
I saw 50 Secret Service agents get injured by rioters trying to jump over the fence, set the church on fire, and destroy a statue.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Trump Suspends Ukraine Aid, Canada-Mexico Tariffs Kick In, Major Address Tonight: AM Update for 3/4
My message has been from the beginning, we're taking nothing off the table, nothing. We will do whatever it takes to secure the American homeland, to maintain our sovereignty and protect the American people.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Trump Suspends Ukraine Aid, Canada-Mexico Tariffs Kick In, Major Address Tonight: AM Update for 3/4
I don't think I ruled anything out. Anything's on the table. The commander-in-chief, ultimately, with my consultation and with the chairman and others, will make those determinations. But nothing's off the table. Our sovereignty will be defended.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
Senator, I was falsely accused in October of 2017. It was fully investigated and I was completely cleared.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
I've made this commitment on behalf of the men and women I'm serving.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
I've made this commitment on behalf of the men and women I'm serving because it's the most important deployment of my life.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
50 secret service agents get injured by rioters trying to jump over the fence, set the church on fire, and destroy a statue.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
Senator, one of the things that President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hand. And so I would never in this public forum give one way or another direct what orders the president would give me in any context.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
And I would point out, I've never disparaged women serving in the military. I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform past and present. My critiques, Senator, recently and in the past, and from personal experience, have been instances where I've seen standards lowered.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
Senator, the United States Army, 450,000 on active duty, sir.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
I don't believe that you can...
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
Senator, as someone who's led men in combat directly and had to make very difficult decisions, I've thought very deeply about the balance between legality and lethality. Sir, I'm talking about restrictive rules of engagement that these men and women behind me understand they've lived with on the battlefield, which has made it more difficult to defeat our enemies.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
In many of the cases you're talking about in particular, sir, there was evidence withheld There was prosecutorial misconduct. And as someone who looks case by case and defaults to the warfighter, to the men and women with dust on their boots, not the second guessers in air conditioned offices in Washington, D.C.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
I look case by case and was proud to work with President Trump to understand those cases and ensure that our warriors are always looked out for.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
I did five sets of 47 this morning.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
In the Pacific, Guam is pretty strategically significant.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
The wokeness comes not from the uniform ranked, Senator, but from the political class. On day one, on January 20th, when President Trump is sworn in, he will issue a new set of lawful orders. And the leadership of our services will have an opportunity to follow those lawful orders or not. Those lawful orders will not be based on politics.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
They will be based on readiness, accountability, standards, and lethality. That is the process by which leaders will be judged. And accountability is coming. Because everybody in this room knows, if you're a rifleman and you lose your rifle... They're throwing the book at you. But if you're a general who loses a war, you get a promotion. That's not going to happen in Donald Trump's Pentagon.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
There will be real standards for success.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
Anonymous smears.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
Senator, her child's name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth. And she's a child of God, and she's seven years old.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
Those were false charges. It was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared. And I am so grateful for the marriage I have to this amazing woman behind me.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
If it's a false claim then and a false claim now.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
Senator, as I've acknowledged to everyone in this committee, not a perfect person, not claiming to be.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly's Instant Analysis of Pete Hegseth Hearing and Dem Absurdity, with Michael Knowles, Dakota Meyer, and Rob O'Neill | Ep. 982
I have failed in things in my life and thankfully I'm redeemed by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Trump's Newsy First Cabinet Meeting, Afghanistan Withdrawal Accountability: AM Update for 2/27
We're doing a complete review of every single aspect of what happened.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Trump's Newsy First Cabinet Meeting, Afghanistan Withdrawal Accountability: AM Update for 2/27
We're doing a complete review of every single aspect of what happened with the botched withdrawal of Afghanistan and plan to have full accountability. It's one of the first things we announced at the Defense Department for that reason, sir. We're taking a very different view, obviously, than the previous administration, and there will be full accountability.
The Megyn Kelly Show
RFK Grilled on the Hill, Trump's Newsy Trip to Syria, Diddy Trial Revelations: AM Update 5/15
I've come to a conclusion, and I hope I'm wrong, after I die, which I totally disagree with because the Hall of Fame is for two reasons, your fans and your family. It's for your family if you're here. It's for your fans if you're here, not if you're 10 feet under. I didn't hurt any of my fans by betting on a game of baseball. And by the way, betting on the game of baseball to win.
The Megyn Kelly Show
RFK Grilled on the Hill, Trump's Newsy Trip to Syria, Diddy Trial Revelations: AM Update 5/15
Every game I played in, I wanted to win.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Exclusive: Alleged Pentagon "Leaker" Colin Carroll Speaks Out About Life Inside DOD, Hegseth's Leadership, and to Dispute Allegations | Ep. 1058
What a big surprise that a bunch of a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Exclusive: Alleged Pentagon "Leaker" Colin Carroll Speaks Out About Life Inside DOD, Hegseth's Leadership, and to Dispute Allegations | Ep. 1058
Not going to work with me because we're changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of warfighters and anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news. Doesn't matter.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Exclusive: Alleged Pentagon "Leaker" Colin Carroll Speaks Out About Life Inside DOD, Hegseth's Leadership, and to Dispute Allegations | Ep. 1058
A series of serious leaks at the Pentagon, which there were Panama Canal plans, Elon Musk's visit, you name it, any number of things. And there's four, five, six, seven things. We said enough is enough. We're going to we're going to launch a leak investigation. which we did, which was then handed over to OSI, which is the special investigators here at DOD.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Exclusive: Alleged Pentagon "Leaker" Colin Carroll Speaks Out About Life Inside DOD, Hegseth's Leadership, and to Dispute Allegations | Ep. 1058
If one or two of these guys is exonerated after an investigation, great. That's what investigations are for. But we took it seriously. It led to some unfortunate places, people I have known for quite some time, but it's not my job to protect them. It's my job to protect national security, the president of the United States.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Senator, thank you for your service. But I reject the premise that President Trump is going to be giving illegal orders.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Senator, anybody of any party could give an order that is against the Constitution or against the law.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
I start by saying I reject the premise that President Trump will be giving any illegal orders at all.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Senator, I was there on the ground.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
I'm not going to put words in the mouth of Secretary Esper or anybody else.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
I'm not scared of anything, Senator.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Senator, I'm glad we finally got to the topic of border security equaling national security because it's been abdicated and ignored for the last four years.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Certainly, I have been involved in conversations relating to doing things this administration has not, which is secure the southern border and not allow floods of illegals to enter our country through an invasion that threatens the American people.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Senator, everything we will do would be lawful and under the Constitution, but I recognize that this administration has advocated its responsibility. President Trump is going to restore order at the border, prevent our enemies from invading, and yes, he has said mass deportations will be a part of what happens.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Those are laws, Senator, set by Congress.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Was it Deion Sanders? Anyway, I loved it. Yeah, it was Deion Sanders. Look at that.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
They have to be at the right place with the right drink with the right people so they can get invited to the next one. Heavens forbid. What if you were to be banned from the next event at Paris Fashion Week?
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn Kelly Goes After Paris Fashion Week, Mahmoud Khalil, Sarah McBride, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and More | Ep. 1027
Was it The Addams Family or was it The Monsters? Okay, I get my monster shows from the 1970s confused.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn's Time 100 Recap, Trump's Board of Directors, and Dems' Sagging Poll Numbers, with Mark Halperin | Ep. 1057
so we're in a what's called a surprise adoption scenario so we we literally we got i was at work i was traveling i got we got a phone call chasten called me and the next day we were in a rural midwestern hospital holding him in our arms and they were like oh wow one day old like it was like that like just from like normal life to like and by the way it's twins uh um which was amazing you
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn's Time 100 Recap, Trump's Board of Directors, and Dems' Sagging Poll Numbers, with Mark Halperin | Ep. 1057
We were just on a list. We said that we were willing to adopt or we wanted to adopt. We said that we wanted to adopt without regard for race. By the way, anybody who says race is not a thing in this country should experience an adoption process where there are literally different lists. If you say that you want a white kid only versus if you say that doesn't matter. Literally a different list.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Megyn's Time 100 Recap, Trump's Board of Directors, and Dems' Sagging Poll Numbers, with Mark Halperin | Ep. 1057
What do you mean by that? The list for white kid only is longer. Hmm. And not only that, there was actually a discount or you didn't have to pay a deposit on the fee. This is like how it works.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Goes Silent in AM as Disaster Grows
As I also stated yesterday, nobody's texting war plans. And that's all I have to say about that.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Goes Silent in AM as Disaster Grows
Nobody's texting more plans. I know exactly what I'm doing, exactly what we're directing, and I'm really proud of what we accomplished, a success.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump in Fear as Signs of Disaster Surface
President Trump said peace through strength will be brought back.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump in Fear as Signs of Disaster Surface
As I also stated yesterday, nobody's texting war plans. And that's all I have to say about that.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump in Fear as Signs of Disaster Surface
Nobody's texting war plans. I know exactly what I'm doing, exactly what we're directing. And I'm really proud of what we accomplished, a success. Yeah.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Crack on Live TV as Pressure Grows
Zelensky should come to the table because this economic partnership is an important thing for the future of his country. And we hope that he will very soon.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Crack on Live TV as Pressure Grows
Fair to say it's a very complicated situation.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Crack on Live TV as Pressure Grows
I don't know who Rosa is and what her hyperbole is all about. Ultimately, we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don't exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything that happens in their spots. What we know about these TJAGs, they're called TJAGs inside the military.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Crack on Live TV as Pressure Grows
Traditionally, they've been elected by each other or chosen by each other, which is exactly how it works often with the chairman as well. Small group of insulated officers who perpetuate the status quo. Well, guess what? Status quo hasn't worked very well at the Pentagon. It's time for fresh blood.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
GOP Leaders Freak Out in Public as Support Crashes
Why would it surprise anybody, Brian, if those very same people keep leaking to the very same reporters whatever information they think they can have to try to sabotage the agenda of the president or the secretary? So once a leaker, always a leaker.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump’s Terrible Secrets from Past Surface in Oval
Would you declassify the 9-11 files?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump’s Terrible Secrets from Past Surface in Oval
Would you declassify JFK files?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump’s Terrible Secrets from Past Surface in Oval
Would you declassify the Epstein files?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Anonymous smears.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Abdicated and ignored for the last four years.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, I am not yet the Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, I would be party to any number of conversations. But you haven't been in any of these conversations. Which I would not reveal what I have discussed with the President of the United States or not.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Certainly, I have been involved in conversations relating to doing things this administration has not, which is secure the southern border and not allow floods of illegals into our country through an invasion.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, those are all anonymous false claims, and the totality- They're not anonymous. The letters on the record here- They're not anonymous. On the record, people who work with me at- Vets for Freedom, Concerned Vets for America, and Fox News attributed to me working hard every day on behalf of my mission.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, I know in my instance, and I'm talking about my instance only, it was a false claim.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
I couldn't tell you the exact amount of nations in that, but I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan and in AUKUS with Australia, trying to work on submarines with them. None of those countries are in ASEAN.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, in both of the organizations I ran, we were always completely fiscally responsible.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Yes or no, did you lead an audit? Yes or no? What are you afraid of?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, every part of my leadership of these organizations has been misrepresented from top to bottom. I will take that as a no.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
False claims were made against me. And ultimately, those false claims, I had the opportunity to attest my innocence in those false claims.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, I've appreciated every part of the process with the transition team. They have been open and honest with me. We've had great conversations between the two of us, and I appreciate the opportunity that President-elect Trump has given me.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, I sit here before you in open book as everyone who's watched this process.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
to include 5,000 National Guardsmen from Indiana and Texas who are at the border right now allowing for border security.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, I'm extremely proud of the work me and my fellow vets did at Vets for Freedom. A bunch of young vets with no political experience.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, I will emphasize that President Trump received 77 million votes to be the lawful commander in chief of this country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, one of the things that President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hand. And so I would never in this public forum give one way or another direct what orders the president would give me in any context.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, those are multiple false anonymous reports peddled by NBC News that run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel who I work with who came on the record and said they've never seen that.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, everything we will do would be lawful and under the Constitution, but I recognize that this administration has advocated its responsibility. President Trump is going to restore order at the border, prevent our enemies from invading, and yes, he has said, mass deportation will be a part of what happens.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
And what became very evident to us From the beginning, there was a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us. That was clear from moment one. And what we knew is that it wasn't about me, Most of it was about President Donald Trump, who's had to endure the very same thing for much longer amounts of time. And he endured it in incredibly strong ways.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
And I'll say it again, because I'm sure it'll be quoted to me at some point. The dumbest phrase in military history is our unity is our strength. No, our shared purpose is our strength.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
YIKES! Hegseth has DISASTER Confirmation Hearing on LIVE TV
Senator, I sit here before you in open book as everyone who's watched this process.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 3/25/25
Everyone knows what top secret means. I've had a top secret clearance. It's big, red, flashing letters, top secret.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 3/25/25
The double standard is incredible. Imagine if it was, I don't know, Donald Trump, what the media would be doing to him right now, eviscerating him. Or imagine if it was a member of the military, which we've seen from General Cartwright and General Petraeus.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 3/25/25
They still go after these guys for a tiny, tiny fraction of what she willfully did and betrayed her country in doing so, supposedly for convenience. And it turns out foreign services want to know what our Secretary of State thinks. And in this instance, they did whatever they could to break an unsecure server in her basement. It tells you everything you need to know.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 3/25/25
Who knows what they heard and what they have. And the kind of leverage that that gives in negotiations or conversations when you know what our hand is and you can anticipate it or get in front of it or you know our sources and methods. I'm not surprised that a military guy like yourself is fired up because it's people like you who pay the price for this kind of extraordinary stuff.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 2/10/25
Yeah, well, first of all, they're not interested in anybody's particular private data because within these systems, they are payment systems of where money was going out and they're gaining visibility and access to that. I will tell you that I believe, strongly believe, that the request that they had, they were not receiving positive viewpoints on. People did not want to comply.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 2/10/25
So when they chose not to comply, they brought their own people in who broke into, so to speak, these databases and provided the information we needed. And the government people, computer programmers, were shocked that it could happen.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Canada MP Destroys Trump and Unites Canada
Here, play this clip. As President Trump has said, but it's not enough. Nor is 3%, nor is 4%, more like 5%. Real investment, real urgency. We can talk all we want about values. Values are important. But you can't shoot values. You can't shoot flags and you can't shoot strong speeches. There is no replacement for hard power.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Canada MP Destroys Trump and Unites Canada
As much as we may not want to like the world we live in, in some cases, there's nothing like hard power.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Major Leaks Cripple Trump as Paranoia Spreads
Pete Hegg said, what do you think? Well, she's got two problems here, two words, top secret. Before it was servers, it was classified. It was sort of this amorphous idea that maybe it was wrong. Everyone knows what top secret means. I've had a top secret clearance. It's big, red, flashing letters, top secret. You know when you're looking at something that's top secret or dealing with it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Major Leaks Cripple Trump as Paranoia Spreads
In this case, the public will resonate with that. Hey, if you're hiding that on a private server, that's a very real problem and likely criminal charges to follow if they're being fair about it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Major Leaks Cripple Trump as Paranoia Spreads
Senator, you mentioned the 40s and 50s and you're precisely right. The military was a forerunner in courageous racial integration in ways no other institutions were willing to do. I served with men and women of all backgrounds because of the courage of people decades and decades ago. Incredibly important. However, the DEI policies of today are not the same as what happened back then.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Major Leaks Cripple Trump as Paranoia Spreads
They're dividing troops inside formations, causing commanders to walk on eggshells, not putting meritocracy first. That's the indictment that's made by those serving right now and why we're having this conversation.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Major Leaks Cripple Trump as Paranoia Spreads
Well, like President Eisenhower, this administration believes in alliances, deeply believes in alliances. But make no mistake, President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into into Uncle Sucker. Thank you. And we're glad to take some questions.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News in Complete Panic as Trump Can't Be Saved
My job as the Secretary of Defense is not to worry about what the lawyers are arguing. I've got my own set of lawyers that give us the legal parameters, and we are abiding by the law completely.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News in Complete Panic as Trump Can't Be Saved
That article is BS. It is exactly what the blame America first crowd will always do, which is try to characterize our efforts, try to mischaracterize our efforts in order to impugn the motives of the president of the United States and his efforts to secure the American people. This idea that people are being mistreated is absolute garbage.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News in Complete Panic as Trump Can't Be Saved
WE SAW THEM, SAW THEIR LIVING CONDITIONS. AND WHAT DID THEY LOOK LIKE? IT'S BASIC, BUT IT'S EVERY BASIC AMENITY THAT YOU COULD NEED IS PROVIDED. MEDICAL CHECKS, DENTAL CHECKS, HEALTH CARE CHECKS, WELFARE CHECKS, RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. If you may temporarily have to go to Gitmo, then you're going home.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News in Complete Panic as Trump Can't Be Saved
I say bulls**t to the ACLU. I know what their agenda is. They want to make America look bad. They want to make our Commander-in-Chief, President Trump, look bad. These are top-notch, top-tier facilities run by professionals where they bend over backwards to make sure that medical, dental, healthcare, food, religious accommodations, language accommodations all exist.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News in Complete Panic as Trump Can't Be Saved
No, you're not going to have universal freedom at Guantanamo Bay. It's a prison. but they get all the time that they need as a temporary place to send them home. This is about temporarily hosting, holding high profile, high threat individuals who then we send home.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News in Complete Panic as Trump Can't Be Saved
This idea that people are being mistreated is absolute garbage.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 2/6/25
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 2/6/25
President Trump is an outside-of-the-box thinker and a visionary leader who solves problems that many others, especially in this city, claim are unsolvable.
The Rachel Maddow Show
'Two perfect months?!': Trump's rationalization of insecure group chat scandal backfires
As it pertains to NATO membership not being realistic outcome for negotiations, that's something that was stated as part of my remarks here, as part of the coordination with how we're executing these ongoing negotiations.
The Rachel Maddow Show
'Two perfect months?!': Trump's rationalization of insecure group chat scandal backfires
I've heard I was characterized. Nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that. Thank you.
The Rachel Maddow Show
'Two perfect months?!': Trump's rationalization of insecure group chat scandal backfires
Nobody's texting war plans. I know exactly what I'm doing, exactly what we're directing, and I'm really proud of what we accomplished. Nobody's texting war plans. You know who sees war plans? I see them. every single day. I looked at him this morning.
The Rachel Maddow Show
'Tech genius' image wears thin after series of errors calls DOGE competence into question
We can talk all we want about values. Values are important. But you can't shoot values. You can't shoot flags. And you can't shoot strong speeches.
The Rachel Maddow Show
'Tech genius' image wears thin after series of errors calls DOGE competence into question
As it pertains to NATO membership not being realistic outcome for negotiations, that's something that was stated as part of my remarks here, as part of a coordination with how we're executing these ongoing negotiations.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And the Iranian response was effectively, you can say, looking at it. And again, I don't have any information if this is the case, but it was telegraphed. And so the Israelis knew it was coming. They were prepared. They had American support to help repel it.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It appears. So, again, though, we can't deny that they have suffered some significant setbacks. However, they still retain significant conventional military capabilities, an effective missile force. They have effective proxies in Iraq. They have a very effective drone program.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And those things, I think the Iranian missile force, more than even a potential nuclear program, and this is based on their experience in Iran-Iraq war, they very much view their missile force as their ultimate guarantor of regime and national survival. And again, that goes back to their experience in the Iran-Iraq war,
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
When Saddam Hussein, sometimes with indirect or direct American support, would use his Scud missiles and Tupolev bombers to effectively bomb and attack Iranian cities. And the Iranians didn't have really an effective strategy.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
defense against them or even a effective way to counter strike Iraq they were able to get some scud missiles from Libya and other sources it's interesting story Qaddafi and Saddam had this kind of rivalry so Libya even though being an Arab secular Arab socialist state kind of like Iraq they wound up backing
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
uh iran but they were never able to match uh iraq's long-range strike capabilities and so that is a big reason why they have invested so heavily in developing missiles drones cruise missiles and things like that that can strike all across the region and that is really the the real threat and that is iranian conventional weapons missiles correct as of right now yes
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I won't necessarily get into that, but part of their conventional capabilities have been weakened, but not defeated, and they still retain significant capabilities.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So I strongly believe that for diplomacy to work, there needs to be a credible military option.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And the president needs that. The Pentagon, where I used to work, needs to provide that. That is their role in American foreign policy, is to provide that leverage to for diplomatic solutions to work. Now, that's how it's supposed to work. Does it often work that way? Unfortunately, the last 30 years have shown us that it really doesn't.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
There is a real potential to that. Again, there's a saying in the military that no plan survives the first contact. And it's largely true that no assumptions survive the first contact. But it's still a significant risk that that could happen. And I think it's fair to say that that is weighing in the calculus of a lot of people in the administration.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I think that is a real risk, if not significantly curtailing the ability to ship energy through that vital sea lane.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They catastrophically spike. Now, over time, the oil market will sort itself out. For sure. You'll have more production here domestically and elsewhere. Oil is fungible. But initially, it would have a pretty catastrophic impact on global oil markets at a time where the United States is facing some economic headwinds.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Now, see, this is very interesting, Tucker, is Why are they part of that coalition? And it's because of our own stupidity. We force these countries together that don't naturally have aligned interests. Iran is a Shiite theocracy. Russia is an authoritarian country run by Vladimir Putin and a group of oligarchs, essentially. China is a quasi-communist, quasi-state capitalist state.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
But the Trump administration is trying to make it work that way, like it's supposed to.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
North Korea is one of the last true communist authoritarian countries on the face of the earth. A lot of these countries should have natural tension. And there's been points in the post-Cold War era where a country like Russia was willing to do things like not sell weapons to Iran because they didn't want to inflict instability on the Middle East.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Russia also traditionally, despite the fact they've supported some of Israel's adversaries, did have a good relationship with Israel. So Israelis, along with the United States, were able to convince the Russians at key points like, hey, don't sell these weapons to Iran or don't do this. And so while they were growing closer, there were still gaps between them.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And let's also be honest, too, is Russia has had significant problems with Islamic radicalism in their country. And they don't want to support a regime that in the past has supported Islamic radicals, both Sunni and Shia, across the Middle East and across other parts of the world. They don't want them doing that in certain parts of the world. And so why are they pushed together?
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Well, it's because we adopted this mindset, and even before the Biden administration adopted this, is that This autocracy versus democracy. And again, it wasn't wasn't well defined before that. But we started just bucketing these countries together. Here's here's a great example. Axis of evil. When they said we have this axis of evil of Iran, Iraq and North Korea. We just talked about it.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Correct. That is how it's supposed to work. Now, there's risks in that. You could create a security dilemma, a spiral. So you have to be careful, but that is essentially why the DoD exists. Now, with that said...
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Iran and Iraq hated each other. They were natural enemies. And by the way, North Korea... And what does North Korea have to do with it? Here's an interesting thing. Iraq and North Korea broke off relationships in the Iran-Iraq war because they were so close to the Iranians. And the North Koreans, it appears, may have ripped off the Iraqis in the 90s They got them.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
This is, again, it hasn't been confirmed, but they may have ripped them off when the North Koreans offered to sell them weapons. And the North Koreans are actually kind of famous for this. They got the money and said, yeah, we can't give that to you. They actually tried at one point in the early 90s. Again, I can't say if this story is for sure, but I read this on a military blog.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They tried to pay for some Russian military equipment with used car parts. So I bring this up in that, and again, Russia and China. These are two countries with historical antagonisms. They have a shared border. During the Soviet times, they fought wars over.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They have the Chinese look at Siberia and its resources, and its population I don't think is growing right now because they killed 100 million baby But this is an area with resources that they need and that there's been in the past conflicts over.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
There should be tension between those two countries, but our foreign policy of bucketing them all together, sanctioning them, treating them as one united front has kind of willed it into existence.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yes. And it shouldn't be that way. We should be able to pull them apart because they have interests that don't align. We should be able to be working more with the Russians. And I hope that, you know, if again, Steve Witkoff is successful and others in the administration, there's a lot of great people in the administration working on Russia, Ukraine right now.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
If they're successful, we can hopefully maybe get to a better place with Russia and they can help us with Iran.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
You know... I think maybe that's a possibility, but the more I've interacted with some of these people and seen them up close, it's almost given them too much credit.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
There are obviously specifics I can't get into, but I think it is fair to say that a war with Iran risks being incredibly costly in terms of lives and dollars and instability in the Middle East.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
There's definitely evil forces at play, but a lot of this is stupidity and laziness. In my, albeit short time in the Pentagon... like with Ukraine, a lot of people in the Pentagon wanted to keep doing what we were doing in Ukraine. Some of them really had an ideological commitment to the Ukrainian project.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
You know, Zelensky has a savior of global liberalism.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
the so I I think that that because of their experience in some ways you can somewhat sympathize with it is that they they did sympathize with Ukraine but you know I saw a lot of it and a lot of it was it's easier to say we should keep doing what we're doing than admit that we had been screwing things up and think of a different way to do things I think that More than ideology.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And ideology plays an important role. The belief the American needs to be the global hegemon to enforce liberal hegemony. But really, for a lot of the people, and I think the same applies to the State Department, it's just easier to say we should just keep doing what we're doing.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I think there clearly is a very strong coalition within the United States that wants us to see another war in the Middle East. And it crosses both parties. Just to point something out, and I wrote about this in Foreign Affairs with a friend of mine, Reed Smith. You know, during the campaign, the Democrats attacked Trump for being too dovish on Iran.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And they attacked him for not doing more after killing Soleimani, not doing more after some of the Iranian drone strikes on Saudi Arabia in 2019. They accused him of being too weak on Iran. And the Democrat Party trotted out Liz Cheney, of all people.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
The lives of Americans, the lives of Iraqis, of Saudis, of Iranians, of... Israelis. Emiratis, yes, of Israelis. And, of course, Iranians. It could be an incredibly costly war. And I think that that is very obvious to anybody who's been watching the region for a while.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
and the endorsement of her father, had her going to battleground states, talking about the importance of staying, quote, strong in the Middle East and continuing to fund an unwinnable war in Ukraine. And that was the position they adopted. So it's kind of transcended the traditional right-left way we think about American foreign policy that came into being
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
at the end of the Cold War, or even before that. It really predates the end of Cold War. It really goes back to the Cold War where the, you know, in the post-Vietnam era, especially the Democrats were the doves, Republicans were the hawks. It really kind of transcends that. And you have this transpartisan movement to keep America engaged in the world.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I think it's good for America to be engaged in the world, but engaged in the world so that their primary purpose is not to protect American interests or safety or or the conditions of American prosperity, but to ensure that America is enforcing liberal hegemony. So getting back to Iran, there's a lot of reasons why people want war with Iran.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I think when it comes down to it is a lot of people still think you can do regime change wars successfully in the Middle East.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Well, I think Donald Trump has exposed them because they're essentially, I mean, some of the biggest advocates of war with Iran, whether it's groups like Foundation for Defense of Democracy, writers at certain publications, essentially they are saying the problem with diplomacy is it doesn't lead to regime change, is that the policy should be regime change.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It's almost like the nuclear issue is really about creating a pathway to regime change. And it really still goes back to this idea is a lot of them deep down inside believe that and some of them say it out loud, that we could have made Iraq successful. And Iraq is just a mess. It is an absolute just cluster. Well, it's a proxy of Iran to the country they hate. Let me just make a note on this.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
The most deadly forces in the middle, the forces that pose the most risk to the United States, United States forces, are the popular mobilization forces in Iraq. They are an official arm of the Iraqi government that we created after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which we fund through aid and whose troops that we train still with with a couple thousand troops in Iraq.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So we're American troops in Iraq right now are getting attacked by. by people who are part of the same government that American troops are helping to support and whose security forces they're helping to train. It is the most counterproductive and insane foreign policy mission in the globe right now. And I hope the administration will make changes to that. But that's, yeah, that's how insane it is.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah, and if you go to Libya, you go to Syria, yeah.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I think that's why over the last few years you have seen certain countries in the region change some of their positions on how they want to engage Iran. There are a lot of Gulf Arab countries, for example. who they by no means view Iran as a benevolent force in the region.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yes, even Yemen, you can include Yemen because we back the old government before it collapsed and Yemen devolved into a civil war.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I mean, some of them do say it out loud, yes, is that they think, oh, the Shah's son has reemerged. I mean, this guy is the ultimate fail son, in my view. And then you have groups like the MEK, People's Mujahideen of Iran, who pay a lot of American politicians to advocate for them and advocate for regime change. They are...
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
essentially saying, hey, we have governments in waiting that can just swoop in there and everything will be fine if you just get rid of the mullahs. Where have we heard that before?
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I know it is. It is hard to believe.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It goes back to what I was saying about what I observed in the Pentagon, I think, is that it's easier to advocate for the same things over and over again than to say we should do something different.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Look, I think – and I've talked about this before in my past jobs. I think there's a disconnect in Washington, D.C. among elected Republicans, with the exception of those in the White House currently, between the base – what the base actually believes on foreign policy – So the base very much doesn't want new wars.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And time and time again, you saw the majority of Republican voters in a lot of these primaries. saying that they wanted fewer wars, is that Republicans, in a lot of cases, were now less hawkish overall.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And, you know, polling, it doesn't tell the whole story all the time, but you saw voters, generally, the Democrats are getting more hawkish primarily because of Ukraine, but you saw Republican voters and independent voters becoming more and more wary of foreign wars. However, because foreign policy
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
a lot of voters is often not a highly salient issue it's not in their top three uh a lot of republicans and democrats are able to get elected despite having horrible records on foreign policy now there are elections where it makes a difference uh 2016 for example um there's real evidence that the fact that donald trump was viewed as less hawkish than harley clinton
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
um played a decisive role in him winning michigan wisconsin and pennsylvania the counties that flipped from obama to trump they had higher levels of what you call military sacrifice so troops deployed wounded or killed than some of the their adjacent counties so that likely contributed both to his 2016 and possibly his 2024 victory now i have good dear friends of mine that
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They're very aware of the threats that they could pose, but they also recognize that a war for them would be extremely costly. And so they're trying to adopt a different posture. And that's a recognition on their end of the costs that a potential full-out war with Iran could have. And I think the president, vice president, they know this.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They're much smarter than me on polling and social science. They may disagree with that. But there have been times where actually the political incentives are to be less hawkish. But those don't show up in most elections. So you have a lot of Republican leaders in particular that are just disconnected from the base. Now, I think the good news is, though... is you're starting to see that change.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And you saw that play out with Ukraine aid, where I think the last major Ukraine aid vote, and it may actually be the last major Ukraine aid vote yet ever, is I think you had over half of Senate Republicans vote against it and more than half of Senate, or excuse me, House members vote against it. And that went from, like you only had six Republicans voting against the first big Ukraine aid package
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
in 2022, and only 40 House Republicans to now, I believe, about 26, 27 senators, and then nearly 110, 113, somewhere in that range, House Republicans voting against it. So you've seen changes. And definitely, the Republicans elected since 2018 in both the House and Senate, they're far less hawkish than people elected before them. That's indisputable. Well, it hasn't worked.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
No, and I think this goes back to a simple belief of what is the purpose of American foreign policy? I believe, and I think President Trump, Vice President Vance, I believe even Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hagseff, and others in the administration fundamentally believe the purpose of American foreign policy is to ensure American safety and the conditions of our prosperity.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
That doesn't mean we're going to ensure 3% GDP growth. It's the things that enable us to be prosperous. So like, for example... prioritizing the defense of the Panama Canal over the negligible issue of which Eastern European oligarch gets to loot the Donbass.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They believe that that is more important because the Panama Canal, indisputably, is more important to us than who controls the Donbass or who controls some desolate patch of desert in the Middle East. So nicely put.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And that is why they are making sure they're prioritizing diplomacy. And let me just say, thank God we have Steve Witkoff in the administration. He is truly doing the Lord's work and trying to stop this war through diplomacy and also end another ongoing war in Russia, Ukraine. And they're making sure that his effort is the main effort, not a military effort at the moment.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So I was a senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense. I was focused on policy. I was the senior advisor in the front office for policy. And so my job day to day was advising the Secretary on policy, making sure that he was prepared for meetings, making sure that he was prepared for giving certain speeches and talks, and then providing him policy advice as needed.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
We had a very smart policy team, the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, who just was confirmed, thank God, Bridge Colby. He's doing a great job. But the way the Pentagon works is you need somebody in the front office that can connect the secretary effectively to policy.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And policy has so many jobs and so many things they have to focus on that you need somebody in the front office that can help be that immediate policy advisor that is able to walk in and talk to the secretary right away.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
You know, it's funny. There was a part of me that didn't even want to go to the Pentagon. It wasn't necessarily something that I dreamed of. I mean, I think my first job I was really obsessed with, like a lot of young boys, was being a firefighter. Where did you grow up? I grew up, I was born in California, lived in Massachusetts for a while, but home is Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
That's where I consider home. My kids were born there. My parents still live there. My grandma still lives there. I still have a lot of family there, and that will always be home for me.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So I went to a Jesuit all-boys school, and the last two years were very intense. The expectation was everybody was going to go to college. And by the end of my time in high school, I didn't want to do more academics. I didn't want to go to college, but it was the thing you had to do. So I dragged myself down to Tucson to go to the University of Arizona. And candidly, I was miserable.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I didn't have any motivation to go to class or do stuff, and I just was hating life. And then one day, my best friend, just a dear friend, I love him to death, James O'Connor, he was... From high school? From high school. He had dropped out of Arizona State University and enlisted in the Army as a paratrooper like his dad and was attached to 101st as part of the Pathfinder unit.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And he was in Iraq in the summer. He went to Iraq in the fall of 2005. And I remember him on AOL Instant Messenger sending me a message saying, my team almost got hit by an IED. And I was kind of like, what am I doing here? I need to get in the fight. Because growing up, he asked me what I wanted to do is I was very interested in military history. And my grandfather...
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
who is very important to me, he was a paratrooper, but I became obsessed with the Marine Corps. And he had me read two books, The Nightingale Song, about... Amazing book. It's an amazing book. I still go and read it every couple of years.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah. And then he had me read Fields of Fire by Jim Webb. Oh my gosh. And Jim Webb is one of my personal heroes.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah. And so they had an unvarnished view of the Marine Corps, but I still wanted to be part of that. And so, you know, I, I, so James, I get the message from James and I say, I got to get out of here. Dropped out, told my parents who are apoplectic. They weren't impressed. Yeah. Yeah, they were scared.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I still feel bad about that fear I put in them because I went and I enlisted in the infantry. In the Marine Corps?
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yes, as an 03, 0311 in the Marine Corps. Now, my first two years in the Marine Corps.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I, you know what? For some people, yes. And I know that you have some Marines that work for you. Yeah. Enlisted Marines. Yeah. And all due respect to them, but there was a saying in the infantry, it's like, if you ain't infantry, you ain't shit.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Everything the Marine Corps did, from its fighter squadrons to its artillery to its tanks, was in support of the enlisted riflemen locating with and destroying enemy and repelling enemy assault by fire maneuver. And so everything was in support of the 0311 doing its job. And so I love being in the infantry.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And there was kind of this thing like if you were infantry, like you felt, whether it was true or not, you're cut above the rest, your life sucked more, but that was a point of pride. And I love that. And so, but my first two years.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yes. This was 2005. Things were going just swimmingly in Iraq then. Afghanistan was kind of on a simmer, but it was still bad before getting much, much worse. So my first two years, in boot camp, I was selected for a program called Yankee White. And this is the presidential support program. So if you've ever seen the Marines saluting in front of the White House...
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They're part of the presidential support program. And as part of that, I went to be part of the Marine Security Force at Camp David. So I spent, I think, almost two years up there about that while President Bush was president. And that was a great duty station. I loved it. Some of my closest friends still to this day I serve with up there. And it was a great command.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I had a great first sergeant, great commanding officer, great platoon sergeant. So I spent two years there. And then once my time was up there, I went to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, which is very lucky. I got put in another great company, Fox Company 2-1. And we did a workup and we needed a deployment to Iraq. And this was end of 08, 2009.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I'll be honest, it was not as bad as it was in Ramadi and Fallujah a few years before that. And it was mostly an uneventful deployment with some exceptions. There was, you know, some incidents and things like that. But you kind of left Iraq at that time thinking, okay, this isn't going to be like the new, you know, this isn't going to be Scottsdale, Arizona anytime soon.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
But this could kind of work. You know, this could kind of be like Tijuana, Mexico, right? um but um strip clubs yeah but five years later with the exception of al-assad every every place that i was at in iraq was under the control of isis
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
That you had been? From the city of Hit to South Sinjar, the mountain where the Uzettis were trapped, where there was those massacres and they enslaved... All the women? Yeah. I was... We were all around Mount Sinjar. We spent a lot of time in the Uzettis. Just...
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
very interesting people their religion is very interesting uh they worship what the west a lot of westerners would call the devil i don't think that's very accurate but they were very pro-american they were they were always dressed in colorful outfits and they come and wave at us and um whereas when you were in the sunni parts they just kind of ignore you and they're like when are you guys going to leave you know uh and so five years after that all had fallen apart and that was and a lot of those people who waved at you were dead or sex slaves
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah, I have a picture of myself on my Twitter with two young Yuzetti boys, and they're either dead or they're in a refugee camp. Maybe they were able to go back, but that's probably the reality of that, unfortunately.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I was working at Concerned Veterans for America, and that's where I met Pete Hegstuff. And one thing... you know, one thing that happened over those five years and continue to happen as I saw. So I did two things. I learned a lot about why the war started. Learned about the decisions that brought us there and I didn't have an overnight transition.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It took a while for it to happen, but I saw the impact on my community of veterans. Um, and it's only gotten worse since then.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They don't want a major war in the Middle East right now because of what they're trying to do with their countries in terms of economic development, because they're trying to give their people a better life. It's worth noting that Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi defense minister, was in Tehran, I believe, a few days ago. And he's the brother of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah. For people who serve in the infantry, that's very common. There were infantry units who fought in the Battle of Fallujah and Ramadi and other very intense conflicts that have suffered more Marines who have killed themselves than were actually killed in action. So...
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It's a disgrace that he is allowed in good and proper company. I think the Iraq War was a monstrous crime. That's the only way I can describe it. It was a crime first and foremost against the Iraqi people and then the Syrian people because those two wars are clearly connected. You know, ISIS essentially was formed in American prisons in Iraq.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
well, ISIS sprung out of Zarqawi's group, but the leadership like Baghdadi and even the new president of Syria, Jolani, they were in American prisons and they met people that would eventually help form their core leadership teams in al-Nusra, which is the al-Qaeda branch, and then ISIS. Baghdadi met in prison, an American prison,
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
you know, Iraqi military leaders and, and started to learn more about military tactics. And a lot of those people he was in prison with would be the people that would help them take over most of Iraq and Syria.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
it started really pushing me to where I'm at now in foreign policy. We need to do something differently. And it kind of radicalized me in a certain way on this and really There's an argument that you need to be when you're talking about foreign policy, you kind of need to be cold and detached. Like some people say that realists need to be cold and detached. I don't necessarily buy that.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
But, you know, when I hear about launching a new military operation, somebody talk about something, my first thought is. What's it going to be like for the guys? What's it going to be like for the boys that are going to be in the front? And, you know, men and women too. It just, that's kind of the, you can't help but look through it for that prism.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And it's, sometimes you do have to detach yourself from it. But yeah, that's, you know, that's what I really think of. But the big thing is like, we have to stop this from happening again. This cannot happen again.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yes. Yes. Right, left. Most of them are rabidly anti-interventionist. Some of them make me look like Paul Wolfowitz.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And they recognize fully the threat that Iran poses. And they take it seriously. But just like the Trump administration, they are prioritizing diplomatic outreach and trying to achieve somewhat of a detente. And that doesn't mean you disarm and you join hands and the Middle East becomes this happy, hippie, circle jam band.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yes. Yeah. And we did, at Concerned Veterans for America, we did a lot of polling when I was there. And we consistently found that the veterans and military family population was more opposed to new wars by... pretty noticeable margins than the general population as a whole.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I'm sorry, I didn't even mention broken families.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
There are some combat arms and special forces communities that have 90% divorce rates. 90%. Yes.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yes. Now, look, I mean, divorce has always been a problem in the military. You have a lot of guys, you know, getting married too young to get out of the barracks. We were talking about that beforehand. But it's the strain of deployments on these specific units that just spikes divorce rates in certain units.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And when you have guys that are spending 70, 80 percent of their time away from home, either training to be deployed or deployed, It's hard. Military service is always going to be hard, but the increased deployment tempo we've had, particularly post 9-11, has exacerbated that.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yes. I think everybody has their breaking point. And there are guys who are able to do... There are people in Ranger units that are on their 15th, 16th deployment. You know, guys who've been in for over 20 years.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I mean, there's so many things it can do to you. I mean, there's some people that are able to just turn it on and off and put it in a box. But I would say that for everybody, just physically, it breaks you down. You know, you've got 38-year-old guys that have bodies of 60-year-olds. Just mentally, it just can wear you down as well too.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
You know, I'd say that he's kind of an outlier, too, in the community where he still, for whatever reason, is supporting American primacy and the status quo. And, you know, most of his increasingly most of his fellow veterans in the Republican side are actually rejecting that.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I can understand why you said that. I mean, he did. Right. He threatened to kill you.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It means that people recognize it's in no one's interest to have a major war in the Middle East.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It's been devastating on our community. It really has. And there's some people that say, oh, the word damp, like they try to soften it. Oh, you shouldn't use the word damaged. That's the proper way to describe it.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I mean, yeah, I yeah, I agree.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So I finish up college. I didn't really want to go to college, but I blew through in like two, two and a half years.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
You know, my first few months out of the Marine Corps were tough. There's some stuff in my personal life that was happening. My father, this is when the economy is really bad. My father passed away from a drug overdose and then leaving the Marine Corps, leaving a group of guys you had thought were your brothers and living in an apartment by yourself, that had a negative. That was not a fun time.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I thought it was going to be a blast. I have a bunch of money saved up from deployment. I'm going to go on the GI Bill. I'm going to a party school. And I just eventually just said, hey, I'm just going to get through college. I want to get a job. I got married. And so I just blew through college. And then I got a job working for a member of Congress out in Arizona.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I was primarily focused on veterans' constituent work at first. And that was actually fulfilling, helping veterans get benefits. And I learned a lot about how dysfunctional the VA was and how dysfunctional the Department of Defense was, too, because, you know, helping guys with problems with the DOD. And after two and a half years there, just to be candid, I needed to make more money.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
By that time, I had a child. And so a friend of mine introduced me to Concerned Veterans for America, which at the time was run by Pete Hegseff. And I was recruited there first as somebody doing some field work and then eventually as legislative and one of the policy directors. Okay. How long were you there?
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I was affiliated with Concerned Veterans for America in one capacity or another for, gosh, almost nine years. Wow. I was eventually the executive director. And then even when I moved to a new job, I retained a senior advisor role.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
When he was with Concerned Veterans for America, yes, we worked very closely together along with Darren Selnick, who's another individual that left the Pentagon last week. And I was primarily working with him on policy and comms, mainly focused on our efforts to fix Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So early on, even before the election, it was very informal because, you know, President Trump didn't initially do a formal transition that you'd seen before, which actually I think in some ways was a good idea. At the time, I may be Didn't understand why, but because of all the leaks and stuff that had hurt him in the first campaign, it ultimately became a much better run transition.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I think a lot of the credit goes to, of course, the president himself, but Susie Wiles and I think Sergio Gore as well, too, was heading personnel. So I was working with a group of people early on to identify people that could serve in the Department of Defense. And one day I get a call from someone and was told, hey, what do you know about Pete Hegseth?
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I give a few bullets about what I know about him. And then I call him. Pete. And we, we had not, I mean, we had still stayed in touch, but we weren't, you know, working as closely together as we watched before. It was like, Hey, just so you know, the transition was asking questions about you. And he says, yeah, I know I'm being considered for the role of secretary of defense.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I was like, wow, okay, that's cool. And so a few days later, through Veterans Day weekend, he gets the job, and I start working with him during his confirmation. I helped him during the confirmation, helped him – defend against a lot of the attacks that were made against him, help with strategy. But what I eventually took over was being his main link to the personnel operation.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So helping to vet and place personnel within the Department of Defense. And so I'd fly down to Florida a lot and work with some really great people on the PPO. They're now on the PPO team and doing that. And so I did. So you're not working for the government at this point. No. I'm doing this on a volunteer basis, and I was paying out of these flights out of my own pocket.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
As of now, no.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It could look when the minute that the bombs or bullets start flying, you can never say with certainty what exactly is going to happen.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah. I was very strongly supportive of him becoming secretary of defense.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I would just say, you know, there's a lot of stories eventually written about me and the personnel that I was, you know, the puppet master and that I had ultimate decision rights and that I was trying to block people that supported this or that or oppose this and that. It was all nonsense.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
But I think that because of, The fact that Iran has been put on its back foot and Iran is weakened. They've had a lot of failures in the region. I think that actually creates an opportunity for more and better diplomacy. But there's some who argue that creates an opportunity for more military action. And again, maybe maybe that's true. But.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I mean, let me tell you, again, I've already used this already, but there were people on the PPO team that were much more hardcore in foreign policy than I was. And so in a lot of cases... I didn't even need to block unaligned people. They were already getting blocked by people, you know, earlier in the process.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
you didn't think that our policy was serving the country or the people who defend it and and you're just trying to keep that foremost in mind as you help create policy for the next generation yes is that a fair i think that's yeah i mean i obviously bias i think it's totally fair um and i just sort of point out is that one thing that was amazing about working on the transition it was tough sometimes it's frustrating sometime and then in the administration was
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
There are so many good people in this administration. I remember I worked a lot. I never went in, but I worked a lot with the first Trump administration. And you can see me on the internet. I was standing behind the president when he was signing veterans bills all the time. The president tweeted about one of my media appearances once.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I remember where I would have people from the White House and from the VA trying to talk me and Concerned Veterans for America out of supporting something the president wanted.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
particularly va choice is giving choice to veterans or making it easier to fire bad va employees these are political appointees saying why do you want to do that that's too radical you know just we need to fix this or that on the margin and in this in this time around you have i think you know just like any administration there are people that aren't on board with the president but
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
One of the coolest things, I would just say, working in administration was having friends and people that share your mindset across the interagency.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And being able to call them up and bounce ideas off each other. And that was a really good experience, I will say. And you saw that transition too.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I think that and also continuing to do what we've been doing previously in Russia, Ukraine.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
He's, I mean, I've already said he's a godsend.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah, I was very open about it. I was very on the record about it. And most of the time when I was saying that we shouldn't do this, it was actually in support of, you know, the president's stated preferences. Like the president clearly doesn't want this. In the first term, there were people in his administration that wanted it. He didn't clearly he clearly didn't want it.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And so it was supporting people who didn't want the war.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Correct. I don't want to speak for the president, but it's fairly obvious that that's what he wants.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
All indications are is that any type of strike would likely incite a major war in the Middle East. And again, I won't get into specifics of what that could entail, but that is a likely outcome of any sustained set of strikes on certain parts of Iran.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Absolutely not.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Absolutely not, and I have not spoken to an NBC reporter while at the Pentagon.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
No, I don't. Sitting here right now, myself and Darren Selnick and Colin Carroll, the other two individuals that were escorted out of the Pentagon, initially placed on leave and then fired on Friday. We have not been told as of this recording. One, is there what we were being investigated for? Two. Is there still an investigation? And three, was there even a real investigation?
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Because there's a lot of evidence that there is not a real investigation. But again, sitting here right now, there are a lot of unknowns about this. As a former Secretary of Defense would say, there's a lot of unknown unknowns. There are some things that are pretty clear, but we have no idea what specifically reinvestigated.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
No. I've never been hooked up to a polygraph machine since I've been in the Department of Defense.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Let me just say, there are so many... different things that would prevent me from doing the things that you've laid out. And again, I don't even know if that's what I'm really being investigated for.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Again, if there's a real investigation, but all these, the point is, is so what I have told some people who have asked me about what's going on is, is I would repeat something that I heard in the Marine Corps in our work up to Iraq. I believe it was in something called a combat hunter course, which was, isn't what it sounds like. It's
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I remember an instructor very clearly saying, when you're in this environment, believe nothing what you hear and only half of what you say. And I think this needs to apply to this situation.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yeah, it's just... You know, sometimes I think it just hasn't fully set in with me and what's going on. And, you know, I just I want to talk about to the two other gentlemen that were that are going through this with me and what's going on with them in some ways is more infuriating because, as you said, I have a public profile. I took some what shouldn't be controversial positions but are.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And, you know, I was out there, you know, advancing things that a lot of people in the foreign positive establishment didn't want. It doesn't justify what's happening to me, but let's just be honest. That is the nature of the games played in D.C., You know, Darren Selnick and Colin Carroll are patriots. Let me talk about Darren a little bit.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Darren's another person that worked with Secretary Hegseth for over a decade. He is somebody who spent decades working around veterans and military health issues. He served in the first Bush administration at the VA. He served a critical role in the first Trump administration.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
He was a key player in advancing the VA Mission Act, one of the greatest accomplishments of the first Trump administration, which fundamentally reformed how the VA delivers health care. Darren, I think, can go to bed every night saying he saved thousands of veterans' lives because of the reforms he helped advance. He's an Air Force veteran.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
In between his stints in government, he worked at Concerned Veterans for America with me and Pete, helping develop revolutionary reform to the VA that in large part were implemented by the first Trump administration. To come back, he picked up, left his nice life in Oceanside, California. His wife, you know, stayed behind and he got, you know, a crummy apartment in Arlington, Virginia.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
and worked sometimes 16, 17-hour days to advance his secretary's agenda. He played a key role in ripping out woke and DEI nonsense from the administration. Darren was a key driver of that.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So before I talk about Colin, Colin has not transitioned as far as I know. But I don't actually know what Darren Selnick and Colin Carroll think about Iran. Darren Selnick could be a secret 12-er Shia for all I know. Colin Carroll could want to, you know, nuke Iran until the sand glows.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Darren was a he was deputy chief of staff focused on back end office operations and personnel and military health policy. Colin Carroll. Let me talk about Colin because he's, I think, an incredible individual, too. Colin was a Naval Academy graduate. He served as a recon Marine in combat. Then he literally became a rocket scientist working in tech, working in companies like Andral.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And he was Steve Feinberg's chief of staff. Colin's focus was on science, R&E, and budget. He was down and in. And these gentlemen were patriots and they did not deserve, none of us deserve to get treated this way, but in some ways angers me more than what's going on with them.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
from outside but also the fighting within it make it like one of the most complicated and treacherous work environments ever created is that fair that is fair and i will say the one thing we had in common there's a couple things we have in common was we were threatening a lot of established interests in our own separate ways. And we had people who had personal vendettas against us.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It's not even just the service members. It's diplomats in these large embassies in places like Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Kuwait. There are some places where there's actually family members in the Middle East. So it's not just service members that are at risk. It is American government employees, primarily diplomatic staff.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And I think they weaponized the investigation against us. I think that's part of what's going on here. But look, Colin, and let me just say, Steve Feinberg, I didn't know him before this. I have a lot of respect for him.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I think he's going to be a fantastic deputy secretary. Steve Feinberg and Colin were going to shake up how acquisitions are done, how the budgeting is done, how we do science and research. And Colin's got one speed, and that's go. And he wasn't afraid to challenge people when they're acting stupid and wanted to keep doing the same thing. Darren's the same way.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Darren upset a lot of the people that want to keep using the military to be a giant social science experiment.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
So we, and of course, I have some views about the role of America in the world, you know, as we've discussed, are a little controversial. All of us in our own ways threatened really established interests.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
We threatened a lot of established interests inside the building and outside the building.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
That is all 100% correct. And let me just say, actually, my first instinct when they came and escorted me out of my office was... I actually thought that they were going to try and get me to testify against the secretary because the secretary over the whole signal gate stuff is under an inspector general investigation. That was my first instinct was this was part of it.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Not at all. In fact, the day I was escorted out of the building, I went into, I won't get specific, the highest of high-level intelligence briefings, and up until the minute I was pulled out of my office, I was on highly classified systems doing my work.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I was doing my job. Part of my job entailed looking at intelligence, helping make recommendations to the secretary, giving my thoughts, working with the policy team, and most of our work was done on classified systems.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Let me be clear. That is a problem at... The Department of Defense. There has been things that have been shared with the media, particularly, I would say, this the Panama stuff that that that is unacceptable.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
But let's be honest. Everyone knows where that's coming from. It's from the career staff who don't look like what the president and the secretary and vice president want to do. There's people on the joint staff that I come to respect, but a lot of them are incredibly hostile to the secretary, to the president and the vice president's worldview.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It's pretty obvious that that's where most of the leaks are coming from. There's a less obvious place. I just want to point something out. As we sit here today, Tucker, and this could change by the time this is aired, but as we sit here today, Susan Rice, Michelle Flournoy, Eric Edelman are still in good standing with the Department of Defense. What? That is correct.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It's also a lot of American workers in the region working in the oil industry, working in the finance industry. There are a lot of Americans that would be at risk, not just service members. And that is, again, that is something that, as you point out very well, Is often overlooked in any discussion around military was not even mentioned.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Like the Obama Susan Rice? Yes. Susan Rice is still on the Defense Policy Board. Right now? As we sit here today, by the time this is released, that might change. But as we sit here today, she is still on the Defense Policy Board. Now, that doesn't mean she can go in the building and get access to whatever she wants. But it means that she works with DOD employees.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
She can interact with them and has the credential and the affiliation with the Department of Defense.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Yet, as we sit here in April of 2025, about 100 days into the president's first term, she and a bunch of other people who are incredibly hostile to the president and his worldview remain on the defense policy board.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
You can go on the website and check it right now. And I checked with Colin and Darren, and they confirmed that as well, too.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And again, I would just say, if you want to look where leaks are maybe coming from, that would be a place to start.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Correct. And I probably would be sitting here today.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
If I had leaked, well, again, I just want to be clear here. I still don't know if the term they used is, and that you see the DOD using, is unauthorized release of information. I think there's a lot of rumors and people are exploiting this that we can talk about. If I actually did some of the things that anonymous people on the internet and in the Pentagon are saying I did, I'd be in handcuffs.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I'm not. Yeah. I'd be like Reality Winner or Bradley Manning or Edward Snowden or one of those people.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I think it's complicated. There's other layers to this, but based on what has been happening since then, I think that is a factor. And it is being weaponized against me. I think that...
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They want to also go after, and I think that had, I can't say this with certainty, but just speculating, that had somebody in the White House not said, okay, we need to put a stop to this, there would probably have been more people treated the same way that Colin, Darren Selnick, and myself were treated.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
100%. I wouldn't have joined this administration if I didn't feel that way. Again, I don't speak for the president, but here's the other thing, too. I had this attitude in the Pentagon, and maybe this was I saw this attitude that I was still in the Marine Corps.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It's like, hey, when a decision is made, when we've decided on a course of action that we're going to do this, we're going to make sure it's executed properly.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And you still raise concerns. If you see something happening, then you can do that. But if you are so repulsed by what's happening, then you should resign.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I said earlier, sometimes I feel like it hasn't fully set in because it does feel like a dream. It's like, what am I going to wake up at zero four 30 and just get, get ready for work and, you know, walk my dog, drop her off at doggy daycare and then roll into the river entrance back in the Pentagon.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I feel like on some level that's happening and, and it, you know, it ha I feel like it hasn't fully hit me, but it's been awful. I mean,
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
the impact on my family you know i'll just say i wanted to try and hide this from my mom as long as possible because i was worried she's a worrier i love her to death she's she's a saint i i i didn't want to tell her then an hour later some somebody leaked to reuters describing exactly what had happened to me And then six hours later, they pulled the same stunt with Darren.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And then 12 hours later, they pulled the same stunt with Colin. And so, you know, it's been devastating and it's caused a lot of stress to, to my family. Just one thing I want to say is I've, I've been a friend and supporter of Pete Hegseth for a long time. And I'm, I'm just personally devastated by this. It's, it's, It's just awful and whatnot.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
But at the end of the day, putting all this aside, Pete Hegseth needs to be a successful Secretary of Defense. And the entire Department of Defense cannot continue to be consumed by chaos. They have a great team there. They have a great deputy secretary. We just talked about Steve Feinberg.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They have, I think, one of the leading lights of the America First foreign policy movement in Bridge Colby, a dear friend of mine, running the policy shop now, effectively the Pentagon's number three. He has a lot of great mid-level and junior staffers under him. You're going to have some great undersecretaries coming in. These are just world-class people. These are not political hacks.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
People like Mike Duffy at ANS, people like Emile Michaels at ANS's Acquisition and Sustainment at Research and Engineering. Service secretaries I think are going to be great. Dan Driscoll. Even though he has a secondary job running an agency that shouldn't exist, ATF, I think he's proven to be a great Army secretary.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And look, one of my favorite things, Tucker, is admitting you're wrong about people. One person I was wrong about was John Phelan. I was skeptical of him being Navy secretary. And so far, I have to say him and his team are off to a great start. I think Troy Mink is going to be a fantastic Air Force secretary.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And so there's this fantastic team underneath the secretary that can enable him to be incredibly successful. He has to move past this. He has to get a solid team around him in the front office. And this isn't a plea to hire me back. I... I can't really just want to move on and go back to doing what I was doing before and being an advocate on the outside.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
But, you know, without Darren and I and others, he needs to get a strong team in there. And there's some great people that I think could do that.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Oh, I have to say, this is interesting you bring him up. Chairman Dan Raisenkane.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Incredibly impressive and I actually think if I'm being honest one thing that is incited the building against President Trump and the secretary was a selection of him They want a lot of people wanted the secretary and the president to go the normal route including some people in the administration and pick a combatant commander, you know a General Carrillo or an Admiral Paparo actually like Admiral Paparo, but
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
They want him to go that route. No, instead, they did something that needed to happen, is they pulled a very accomplished guy out of retirement, somebody who didn't do all the right things and check all the right boxes in his career, but who's incredibly smart, who's incredibly... thoughtful about how he approaches problems to be the chairman. And that upset so many career paths.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Like if you look at these books where they kind of lay out like how you promote generals is they have like little maps about where people are going to go. And there's a lot of people that are going to go to, you This role in the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, the vice chairman, they're going to be the chief of staff of the Army. And by elevating King, they upset so many career paths.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And it's hard to overstate how much of a middle finger that was to a lot of the uniform leadership of the United States military. And I think that was one of the reasons why we started to see more leaks really starting around the middle of March.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
No, absolutely not. And again, it's obvious to anybody who's worked in the Pentagon where these were coming from. I really appreciate your spending all this time. Tucker, it's been an honor to be here. And I just want to say. I think you should feel proud because you have played a key role in helping stop some really bad stuff in foreign policy.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Your platform has really helped turn the tide, I think, in a lot of different ways. And I think you deserve a lot of credit for that.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Thank you.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I mean, that is a risk with any overseas military operation. I do think this is another reason why we need to take homeland defense and homeland security more seriously. But yes, that is a real risk. I will say, backing up to 9-11 comparison is... there was a series of mistakes in both American foreign policy and American security policy that paved the road to 9-11.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
I mean, the inability of the FBI and CIA to work together, the decision through friendly nations to fund certain groups to allow the growth of certain forces to fight communism, which at the time was probably the right decision because of the threat the Soviet Union posed. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And one of the reasons why we're in the situation we are in the Middle East with Iran is, we have to be honest, because of the war in Iraq. Saddam Hussein was a check against Iran, is that he forced Iran to devote resources to to deterring Iraq that now Iran doesn't need to put against deterring Iraq conventionally or through their own proxies.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Now they're able to put that money into places like Hezbollah, the Houthis, and also devote more resources to its missile program and potentially its nuclear program as well too. That that is, I think, one of the things that you can't overlook when discussing foreign policy and that not enough people have the conversation about how did we get here?
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
It's like people don't want to have a conversation about how we got to where we are in Ukraine. You know, NATO expansion played a big role in that. You know, 30 years of failed American foreign policy towards Eastern Europe. the support of certain revolutions, the support of certain political figures.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
There were smart people from George Kennan to even the former CIA director, whatever you think of him, Bill Burns, who warned that this stuff would happen. And again, these decisions that we make in a certain moment, very focused on one thing, have second and third order consequences that sometimes are very easy to see. that they're quite obvious.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Like if anybody had any understanding of the region and the power dynamics in the region in 2003, they would have known, geez, removing Saddam Hussein, however awful he was, would inevitably benefit Iran. There was hardly any discussion of that in the lead up to the war.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Boy, that could be a three-hour conversation in and of itself. So I think there's a lot of reasons why. We invaded Iraq. None of them good. But the one thing that should be acknowledged is that even before 9-11, there was an effort to create the conditions for the United States to go and invade Iraq. They thought that by...
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
overthrowing Saddam, that this would lead to an outbreak of peace and democracy across the Middle East that predated 9-11. And you had things like the Project for a New American Century. You had Paul Wolfowitz at the tail end of the Bush administration, very angry that George H.W. Bush didn't go all the way in terms of Baghdad. I remember.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And then you had this post Cold War moment where the United States was not simply a superpower. It was a hyper power. And we had nobody who could effectively challenge us. Russia was a mess. China was still on the upswing. Some people could some smart people saw what was coming. But the assumption was we bring them into the WTO. We do free trade. China is going to become a democracy.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And so when when you have nobody in the world that can effectively challenge or check you, that can create political conditions domestically that lead people to think that there will be no consequences for American foreign policy. And I also think, too.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
that are experienced in the Balkans, and how those wars went, also convinced a large part of the American security establishment that, oh, we can deal with Iraq rather cheaply and quickly, and it'd be no big deal.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
And you saw a lot of that in the early days of the Iraq War, people gloating, people assuming that, you know, once the statue of Saddam in Fayda Square fell down, which, by the way, was, you know, pulled down by Marines from 1st Marine Division, that, you know, we'd be out there pretty quickly. And history showed that that was not the case.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Again, they're quite clearly on their back foot. Anybody who's been watching what has happened to them in the region in the last seven, eight months can see that. Yes. Hezbollah has suffered significant defeats.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The Pentagon Didn’t Fire Dan Caldwell Over Leaks. They Fired Him for Opposing War With Iran.
Iran lost arguably its closest ally in the region in Bashar al-Assad, lost a key pipeline of weapons and supplies into Lebanon, which restricts their ability to help Hezbollah rebuild itself. They suffered some setbacks from some initial Israeli airstrikes at the end of last year. And I just want to be clear about those airstrikes is that they were very limited and they were very targeted.
Today, Explained
Should women be in combat?
Because I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.
Today, Explained
Should women be in combat?
When I'm talking about that issue, It's not about the capabilities of men and women. It's about standards. Standards that we, unfortunately, over time, have seen eroded in certain duty positions, certain schools, certain places, which affects readiness, which is what I care about the most, readiness.
Today, Explained
Should women be in combat?
So for decades, the military I joined, there were different male and female physical standards because men and women are different, and that's understandable. But there were certain jobs, combat MOSs, that were only for men, and so you had a male standard.
Today, Explained
Should women be in combat?
We're ensuring that any combat position across any of the services, and the services are evaluating that, has the same standard for men and women.
Today, Explained
Should women be in combat?
Commanders meet quotas to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted, and that disparages those women who are incredibly capable of meeting that standard.
Today, Explained
Should women be in combat?
No more pronouns. No more climate change obsession. No more emergency vaccine mandates. No more dudes in dresses. We're done with that shit.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
Hey, Pete, I got your back. It's a fight. They're coming after you. Get after it. I think he'll be delighted that we're talking today and we're going to do more talking.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
It's a fight. They're coming after you. Get after it.