News
Trump’s Defense Nominee Admits He Was ‘Deemed an Extremist’ by the Military
Pete Hegseth, the host of the weekend edition of “Fox & Friends,” is President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Defense—one of the most powerful positions not only in the country but also in the world. Critics, and even some Republican U.S. Senators, are shocked by the choice, with some pointing to what they see as his lack of qualifications and his apparent far-right Christian nationalist ties, as causes for concern.
The London-based nonprofit, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), issued a statement on “Hegseth’s associations with Christian nationalist movements,” and warned of his “ties to extreme Christian theologies … [that] have raised alarms about the direction of Trump’s potential administration.”
The current U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, is a retired four-star U.S. Army General. He has served as commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), Army Vice Chief of Staff, Commander of United States Forces – Iraq, and Director of the Joint Staff. He is a decorated soldier, awarded for valor and distinguished service. Austin graduated from West Point in 1975 and served in the U.S. Armed Forces until his retirement in 2016.
Hegseth has served in the Minnesota Army National Guard since 2003. He holds the rank of Major, has received several awards, and has served at Guantánamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
READ MORE: Trump NatSec Nominees Are ‘Worse Than Worst Case,’ ‘Functional Foreign Agents’: Experts
One day before Joe Biden was sworn into office as America’s 46th President, The Associated Press reported, “Twelve U.S. National Guard members have been removed from securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration after vetting by the FBI, including two who made extremist statements in posts or texts about the … event, Pentagon officials said.”
“Two other U.S. officials told The Associated Press that all 12 were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or posted extremist views online,” the report noted. “The officials told the AP they had all been removed because of ‘security liabilities.’”
Jim LaPorta, an award-winning journalist who shared the byline on the AP story, is now a verification producer with CBS News Confirmed. He served two tours in Afghanistan and often writes about the U.S. Military and military veterans.
Last week, well before the SecDef nomination, LaPorta posted video of Hegseth to the social media site X and wrote: “Interesting. Couple of years ago, I had a scoop which the Pentagon later confirmed that Twelve U.S. National Guard members were removed from securing then President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration after vetting. Turns out one of them was @PeteHegseth.”
In the video, Hegseth at least partially confirms why he was removed from Biden’s inauguration duty.
Interesting. Couple of years ago, I had a scoop which the Pentagon later confirmed that Twelve U.S. National Guard members were removed from securing then President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration after vetting. Turns out one of them was @PeteHegseth https://t.co/0lSzyOjzzm pic.twitter.com/QcQQmtUJJ1
— Jim LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) November 7, 2024
“I was deemed an extremist because of a tattoo, by my National Guard unit in Washington, D.C. And my orders were revoked to guard the Biden inauguration,” Hegseth says in the video. “Jerusalem Cross tattoo, which is just a Christian symbol … got me disinvited.”
Religion scholar Matthew D. Taylor, a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, & Jewish Studies, says Hegseth’s tattoo is not just a Christian symbol.
“Hegseth’s a prominent Fox News personality & veterans advocate, but he also has strong ties to the Christian far right,” Taylor writes at the start of a lengthy thread, posting a photo of Hegseth with his tattoos exposed — and he notes that there are not one but two` Christian tattoos.
Yesterday Trump announced he’s nominating Pete Hegseth as his Secretary of Defense.
Hegseth’s a prominent Fox News personality & veterans advocate, but he also has strong ties to the Christian far right that I’ve not seen fully exposed yet.
Here’s a thread w/ receipts… 1/ pic.twitter.com/FdnhMZx4nx
— Matthew D. Taylor (@TaylorMatthewD) November 13, 2024
“Hegseth has 2 Crusader tattoos: a Jerusalem Cross, the symbol of the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem on his chest,” which he showed in the video, “& ‘Deus Vult’ the Crusaders’ theological cri de coeur (‘God wills it’) on his bicep. ‘Deus Vult’ means God mandated Crusaders’ violence,” Taylor writes.
READ MORE: Musk and Ramaswamy Heading New ‘DOGE’ Prompts Legal and Ethical Concerns: Exper
He also points to a Newsweek article focusing on Hegseth being removed from the Biden inauguration. It also delves into his cross tattoo.
“In recent years some right-wing nationalist groups have adopted Crusader imagery, including depictions of Templar Knights and the Crusader slogan Deus vult, Latin for ‘God wills it.'”
At The Bulwark, Annika Brockschmidt and Thomas Lecaque on Thursday report: “Donald Trump’s potential secretary of defense hasn’t been straightforward about the violent symbolism of his ink.”
They explain there are many tattoos, which they say are “a veritable checklist of today’s Christian nationalist folklore.”
Brockschmidt and Lecaque write from experience. Brockschmidt’s bio reads: “Journalist, author and trained historian writing about right-wing reactionary movements in the US and Europe, with a focus on the Religious Right and White Christian nationalism.” And Lecaque’s says he is “an associate professor of history at Grand View University, studies religious violence and apocalypticism.”
“Hegseth insinuates that he was discriminated against for having this ‘religious’ image on his body,” they write. “But the symbol is not only religious: It has always carried a political valence. The Jerusalem Cross was used as the emblem of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from the late thirteenth century onwards. You may have seen it in Ridley Scott’s The Kingdom of Heaven (2005). It has made its way into a variety of contemporary far-right Templar myths. All this is left unmentioned by Hegseth.”
“And it’s far from the only ideologically charged tattoo on Trump’s SecDef nominee,” they add. “Hegseth’s right arm is covered from top to bottom, and most of the images draw from Revolution-era propaganda primarily associated nowadays with the ‘Patriot’ rhetoric of militia movements and QAnon. Three of these are clearly visible in the cover photo for one of his books, American Crusade: (1) the year 1775 in Roman numerals, (2) ‘We the People’ in a stylized colonial script, and (3) an American flag with a modified M-4 superimposed over the lower bars.”
“He also has Ben Franklin’s famous ‘Join or Die’ cartoon—the chopped-up snake representing the fate of the non-unified colonies—on the underside of his forearm. On his shoulder he has the insignia of the 187th Infantry Regiment in which he served; his elbow is decorated with a circle of stars and the crook of his arm features a pair of crossed muskets.”
They add that Hegseth also has “tattoos that have made the work of historians of the Crusades depressingly relevant to contemporary politics again: a sword embedded in a cross on Hegseth’s inner forearm—it represents Matthew 10:34, the verse wherein Christ says, ‘I have not come to bring peace, but a sword’—and, most disturbing of all, a gothic inscription on his bicep: ‘Deus Vult.'”
They offer a deeper explanation of the “Deus Vultures” tattoo.
“‘Deus Vult’ has never been interpreted as a call for spiritual combat—for reflection and prayer. It has always been understood as a call for violent action, for blood. This interpretation remains consistent in its widespread adoption by the Christian far right around the world, including by some who marched on the Capitol on January 6th, and one who perpetrated shocking white supremacist violence against Muslims in New Zealand.”
They say Hegseth’s tattoos provide “a veritable checklist of today’s Christian nationalist folklore. Among many who espouse a union of church and state, gun tattoos such as Hegseth’s amount to a kind of spiritual kitsch, a younger and more radical generation’s version of putting a framed print of Albrecht Dürer’s study of praying hands on the dining room wall. The iconography of weaponry is ubiquitous: Hegseth has used his Instagram profile to advertise silencers, ammunition, and soaps shaped like grenades.”
Watch the video above or at this link.
READ MORE: ‘Tenfold Increase in Number of Deportations’: Trump Hands Stephen Miller Top Policy Post
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner is under fire after releasing a video declaring that new allegations against him are false, yet he is “taking time to reflect” on a path forward.
Politico on Monday afternoon reported that a woman who dated Platner, Jenny Racicot, “says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections, an allegation Platner denies.”
“Racicot said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner,” Politico reported, “for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.”
In a video posted to social media eleven minutes after the Politico story dropped, Platner says, “I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.”
He said he and his supporters “were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change, in a focus on defeating Susan Collins.”
“So, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.”
“Those were the goals when we launched this campaign. And they remain my goals today.”
“Throughout it all, you never turned your back on me. And I will not turn my back on you now. Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition and see Susan Collins defeated. And we will use every tool at our disposal to do so.”
The Bulwark’s Tim Miller, a political commentator who served as the communications director for the Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign, blasted Platner.
“I’m sorry but ‘we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward’ is not an option on the table,” Miller wrote. “Either it’s false and you campaign with vigor or it’s true and you get out / apologize to everyone you let down.”
Journalist Ryan Grim, commenting on Platner’s video, noted that Platner “strongly suggests he is considering dropping out. Already Troy Jackson and Chellie Pingree, both gubernatorial candidates, are being kicked around in Maine circles as potential replacements.”
Several others, including Puck News’ Peter Hamby, predicted Platner will be dropping out.
Platner had postponed several campaign events before the Politico story was published.
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026
President Donald Trump is facing backlash after posting a video of children — including showing their unblurred faces — graduating from kindergarten, with some of the girls purportedly wearing hijabs.
“President Trump posted a captionless video of graduating kindergarteners on Truth Social on Monday, goading his supporters into verbally attacking little children simply for being Muslim,” The New Republic reported. “The clip is from Gateway STEM Academy, a majority-Black K-8 public charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota. It shows about 21 children in caps and gowns on stage singing a song together. Most of the girls are wearing hijabs.”
The original post of the video which Trump reposted reads: “Public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Every girl is in a hijab … in kindergarten.”
Trump did not add any comments. TNR called the post “Islamophobic, weird, and creepy,” while noting that the comments section of Trump’s post was filled with calls “by racist, xenophobic MAGA supporters” to “deport the children and ban hijabs.”
TNR also noted that it “should come as no surprise that Trump isn’t above attacking children who just learned how to read, but this post is still particularly discomforting—and will certainly contribute to the already potent level of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. and in Minnesota.”
Critics blasted Trump.
“There is something deeply unsettling about the president of the United States—the most powerful person in the world—going after kindergarten schoolchildren in Minnesota because they wore hijabs, as Trump has done this morning on his website,” The Bulwark’s Sam Stein wrote.
One social media commentator wrote, “Trump posted an unblurred video of more than a dozen Muslim kindergartners to Truth Social, exposing the children’s faces while targeting them for their religion.”
Another added, “Trump is a bigot. The president took to Truth Social to attack kindergarteners in hijabs. These are little kids. The president isn’t just a bigot, he’s also a coward.”
The original video was posted to the X social media platform in June.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) at the time commented, “If you are in a public school in America, you should be speaking english.”
Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump’s apparent efforts to delay releasing the $5.8 million civil judgment to E. Jean Carroll are being met with a warning by the journalist’s legal team, who suggest there could be a legal maneuver for Trump to employ to forgo paying the judgment in either of the two cases he lost.
According to The Guardian, on July 4, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Trump to release the $5.8 million judgment, which is in escrow, to Carroll by this coming Tuesday — or explain why he would not do so.
Carroll’s attorneys think Trump may be trying to buy time to mount another legal strategy, telling the judge that Trump’s request for an extension “appears to be little more than yet another play for time.”
“The case is separate from Trump’s appeal of a Manhattan civil jury’s 2024 award of $83.3m to Carroll for defamation,” The Guardian explains. “But her lawyers have suggested a legal scenario in which the president might seek to conjoin the cases and further delay payment of both.”
Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge) wrote, “We can only assume that defendant is seeking … to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying plaintiff presumably in connection with his forthcoming petition and motion for a rehearing.”
Trump’s former attorney, Justin Smith, in one of his final acts, wrote to the Supreme Court suggesting that his client would be appealing the $83.3 million civil judgment.
Smith argued that the Supreme Court “may wish to consider the petitions together,” given they involve the same parties.
The larger judgment case involves possible questions of presidential immunity, and that has Carroll’s attorneys concerned.
“A conjoined case, Carroll’s lawyers fear, could result in both judgments being wiped out,” The Guardian reports.
The president has also made clear he is no fan of Judge Kaplan, after the jurist made several rulings that “angered” Trump.
“What else can you expect from a Trump Hating, Clinton appointed judge, who went out of his way to make sure that the result was as negative as it could possible be,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in 2023, “speaking to, and in control of, a jury from an anti-Trump area which is probably the worst place in the US for me to get a fair ‘trial’.”
Image via Reuters
Platner Scorched Over ‘Taking Time’ Video After New Accusation
Trump Sparks Fury Online After Posting Unblurred Video of Muslim Kindergartners in Hijabs
One Legal Maneuver Threatens to Undo Everything E. Jean Carroll Won
Inside the Group Helping MAGA Voters Walk Away — And What Finally Pushed Them
