Political positions of Pete Hegseth

The 29th United States secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has been described as a Christian nationalist.^[1][2][3] Alice Herman of The Guardian has described Hegseth as having a "Christian nationalist ideology", and as "someone immersed in a culture of rightwing Christianity, political extremism and violent ideation".^[1] Hegseth's views have been described as far-right by The Guardian.^[4]

In his book, American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free, Hegseth said he believes there are "irreconcilable differences between the Left and the Right in America leading to perpetual conflict that cannot be resolved through the political process". He furthermore called for an "American crusade", which he described as "a holy war for the righteous cause of human freedom". Hegseth characterizes "Americanism" in being opposition to forces like feminism, globalism, Marxism and progressivism and says either "Americanism" will prevail or "death" will. In a May 2024 interview where he talked about education, Hegseth said "Democracy, democracy, defend the democracy. Do you know what our founders did not want us to be? A democracy."^[5] Hegseth has explicitly rejected democracy in his book, equating it to a leftist demand; he has also expressed support for election-rigging through gerrymandering to "screw Democrats".^[6]

Hegseth predicted that if Democrats won the 2020 election, there would be a "national divorce", that the military and the police "will be forced to make a choice", and that "there will be some form of civil war". He also said that conservatives must "mock, humiliate, intimidate, and crush our leftist opponents" and to "attack first" to deal with a left he equates with "sedition". His book "lays out the strategy we must employ in order to defeat America's internal enemies". Hegseth has described progressives and Democrats as "enemies" of freedom, the U.S. Constitution, and America. Hegseth has said that victory for America includes the end of globalism, socialism, secularism, environmentalism, Islamism, genderism and leftism, the last of which he refers to as a "false religion" and "specter" that views non-believers as "infidels". He has announced his support for American nationalism. Hegseth believes Americans must build a border wall, raise tariffs, learn English and "fight back".^[6]