Wednesday Edition: The Rundown on Hegseth

With reports suggesting Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s defense secretary nominee, has the votes needed to get confirmed, here’s the rundown on the former Fox News host. (Free Beacon)

The pros: During his two decades of military service, Hegseth, who served as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, was awarded two Bronze Stars.

• He has academic chops — degrees from Yale University and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

• He also headed up Concerned Veterans for America, a veterans advocacy group, and picked up some (admittedly brief) think tank experience when he worked at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

• Unlike more conventional candidates, Hegseth has shown a willingness to take on the culture wars fights (wokeness in the military, politically incorrect views on recruiting) that are dominating the public mood.

The concerns: Compared to recent defense secretaries, Hegseth’s relative lack of senior national security experience stands out.

• Hegseth’s appointment has come under fire following anonymous allegations of sexual assault and claims of unprofessional workplace behavior, including drinking on the job.

• He has denied the accusations, with multiple colleagues publicly coming to his defense.

Three Hegseth quotes: Hegseth’s blunt rhetoric sets him apart from the typically measured tone of high-ranking military leaders, a reflection of Trump’s penchant for disrupting the status quo.

• “As far as recruiting, [I want] to hire the guy that did ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and create some real ads that motivate people to want to serve.”

• “The Pentagon runs perfect war game simulations, we lose every time to China… They’re building an army…We have our heads up our asses.”

• “I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.”

The Washington Free Beacon’s Editors on Hegseth:

Bubba’s Two Cents

The military’s reputation has taken a hit amid claims of "wokeness," declining recruitment numbers and a broad backlash against foreign intervention. Even Republicans, who have historically been stalwart supporters of our Armed Forces, are frustrated by the status quo military leadership. Per Gallup, GOP confidence in the military dropped more than 20% from 2020 to 2023.

That Hegseth doesn’t fit the mold of your typical defense secretary nominee is probably a big point in his favor in the eyes of many people.

With 2025 just kicking off and a second Trump era about to begin, we look back at some critical shifts in public sentiment.

Renewed GOP faith in elections: According to a recent Pew poll, 94% of Republicans say votes cast in the most recent election were counted accurately — a massive spike from 2020.

Ukraine 180: When the war broke out, a solid majority of Americans wanted the U.S. to back Ukraine’s mission to reclaim territory from Russia, but public sentiment has now flipped.

Jan. 6 outrage fades: Per a recent analysis from CNN’s Harry Enten, the share of Americans who believe Trump should be ineligible for office due to the Capitol Riot dropped from 56% in January 2021 to 47% in December 2023.

• Those who thought Trump was responsible for Jan. 6 fell from 48% to 37% during the same period.

• The percentage of Americans unsure about how bad Jan. 6 was has doubled, from 9% in 2021 to 19% now, according to an AP-NORC poll.

Colleges’ reputational decline: Views of U.S. higher education have soured, especially among Republicans.

In a major blow to the fact-checking industry, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced Tuesday it was ending its third-party fact-checking program. (WSJ)

The latest: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video the move was aimed at “restoring free expression on our platforms.”

• Zuckerberg also said “fact-checkers have been too politically biased” and “destroyed more trust than they created.”

• The company plans to replace its fact-checkers with a "Community Notes" system inspired by X, where users add context to posts and flag false information.

Yes, this headline is real: The general response in the mainstream media was skeptical, and a number of journalists insinuated Zuckerberg’s move was an attempt to mend fences with President-elect Trump.

Zoom in: With critics raising a stink about Meta’s decision to abandon fact-checking, it should be noted that research suggests X’s “Community Notes” model has been pretty successful, if imperfect.

• A UC-San Diego study published last year found “Community Notes” responses to vaccine misinformation were 97.5% totally accurate and 2% partially accurate.

Zoom out: The controversy over fact-checking highlights a partisan divide, as Republicans allege it disproportionately targets conservative viewpoints.

• Meanwhile, Democrats have become much more bullish on the issue, with 70% now saying the government should restrict online misinformation even if it suppresses free speech.

Bubba’s Two Cents

Trump’s election is another milestone in the shift away from establishment norms. Tech bros, podcasters and the free speech crowd have all seen their stock rise. On the other hand, legacy media, DEI frameworks and institutional gatekeeping have been discredited. This change also underscores a move from top-down decision-making to more democratic-minded solutions, like the crowd-sourced “Community Notes” system on X.