THREAD: 1/? True story, @PeteHegseth was the subject of my first ever research book in 2017.
I used to have to wake up early every weekend morning to watch Fox and Friends and hang on his every word.
2/? At the time, he was a never-Trumper. He was a huge defender of the Bush Doctrine, water boarding, the Iraq invasion, etc.
Then one day, something completely changed and he became a rabid Trump fan…
He had previously portrayed himself as a military hawk and a cautious speaker on domestic issues. He was protecting his brand for a real senate run.
It was extremely confusing why he suddenly threw all caution to the wind and became part of a MAGA cult.
Well, as it turned out, ol’ Pete just had his third kid with his Fox & Friends producer who he was having an affair with. I guess when that was inevitable to be public, he knew his brand was destroyed anyway (for anyone but Trump, I guess) and decided to jump on the team.
Here are some more highlights from his move to post-MAGA:
-He doesn’t think too much military spending is possible.
-He frequently spoke to David Horowitz’s org., so it’s clear how he views what’s happening in Gaza.
-He spoke out aggressively against women in combat roles
-He says climate change theory only exists to expand government
-He suggested that there’s no such thing as a “moderate muslim”
-He spoke at a dinner honoring the man who chiefly funds the Israeli settlers
-On Bush’s torture regime: “…it’s hard to argue with 8+ years of safety since 9/11.”
-On poverty in America: “I mean poverty here is saddled with a cell phone bill and [chuckles] internet access.”
-On worker protections: “There are so many protections--overwhelming protections for workers which, were good at one point, are now just an impossible maze of red tape.”
-Pete was also a fan boy of Paul Ryan and once promised to cut Social Security and Medicare (if elected)
-I neglected to mention that Pete also cheated on his first wife who was his high school sweetheart.
-He wanted to privatize the VA.
-Lied about working for the Koch Bros when he was head of Concerned Veterans for America until he was secretly caught on tape talking to them
I have a lot more, but it’s gonna have to wait while I do something. Stay tuned, it will be worth the wait.
OK, I’m back.
-@PeteHegseth will spread racist lies to get attention. Once he did a segment where he went to Mpls’s West Bank (large Somali pop) and claimed it was a Sharia Law no go zone. That night, 10ft from where he filmed it, @atrupar and I drank beer and played bocce.
Speaking of Aaron and his high school classmate, here’s the time he caught him telling the world that he didn’t wash his hands…ever.
Pete, who sent his kids to a very expensive private religious school, has long been an advocate for slashing public school budgets and going the voucher route.
The school his kids attended was so expensive that Pete subsidized tuition by co-hosting the school’s podcast.
-Pete also was a huge supporter of scrapping the ACA because “We shouldn’t be mandating care.”
-Pere frequently mocked outrage over Trump’s family separation program ex/ “Yeah, here with more on this sob story is Deputy Opinion Editor for the Washington Times, Kelly Riddell.”
*Pete, whatever.
-He once claimed that the racist name for the DC football team, the “Redskins,” was a “term of respect” and then said the NFL should allow the name because “the market has spoken.”
-He once called Obama’s targeted bombing program “PC culture” and “the problem is, you can’t tiptoe your way around ISIS. They’re going to use human shields, and if that prevents us from bombing their headquarters, then we’re just giving in to their way of war in the process.”
-Remember Trump’s criticism of the Iraq war?
Pete in ‘16: “The Iraq War is an example of what America got right when we got it right.”
I’m running out of steam, but one last thing on your new Sec of Defense. This gif you may have seen before is Pete Hegseth blasting a soldier with a hatchet.
Great work, everyone. 👍
Oh wait, one more thing. Someone should ask former Minnesota GOP leadership (ahem Mayor Carnahan) about Pete getting caught in a janitor’s closet w someone who wasn’t any of his three wives at the GOP’s 2020 State Convention in Duluth. Ok, now I’m done.
DM’s are open for anyone who needs some opposition research done!
Here is some quality reporting on some of what I’ve laid out tonight:
apmreports.org/story/2018/03/…
americanoversight.org/documents-reve…
Another tweet, I’m hearing that Pete said that he no longer thinks the Iraq war was a good idea. Welp…
Hey @thedailybeast, would y’all be willing to unlock this story of our potential next Sec. of Defense? thedailybeast.com/fox-news-host-…
@thedailybeast Pete Hegseth February 2016:
Donald Trump uses Nancy Pelosi talking points and also every Iraq war veteran should be offended by his Iraq War statements.
So, opposing the Iraq War was a Democratic party thing until Trump started with it 🤔
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