#even if he goes to the sens it's not the same
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“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s overseas trip started with heckling from military families. That turned out to be one the best moments of his excursion.
Feb. 17, 2025, 3:34 PM EST
By Steve Benen
As last week got underway, it was clear that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon was off to an unfortunate start. When the former Fox News host arrived at U.S. European Command headquarters in Germany, for example, he faced heckling and protests from military families.
“Protests by military families against a defense secretary are extremely rare,” NBC News reported.
As it turns out, this was among the best moments for Hegseth during his trip abroad.
The day after facing military families’ derision, the hapless Pentagon chief publicly said it was “unrealistic” to think Russia wouldn’t keep portions of Ukraine it took by force. He added that Ukrainian membership in NATO wouldn’t happen. It was a dramatic misstep: Before negotiations on a possible peace plan even began, Hegseth was already giving Russia what it wanted.
The mistake did not go unnoticed. Not only were U.S. allies taken aback, but Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, chided the defense secretary of making a “rookie mistake.”
Hegseth tried to backpedal a day later, distancing himself from “something that was stated as part of my remarks” — a passive voice phrase for the ages — but around the same time, the Pentagon chief launched into some terribly odd comments about the use of force. “We can talk all we want about values. Values are important,” Hegseth said in widely derided comments. “But you can’t shoot values, you can’t shoot flags, and you can’t shoot strong speeches.”
The unscripted comments appeared to reflect someone who was simply in over his head.
Making matters worse, as my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones noted, Hegseth apparently thought it’d also be a good idea to bring right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec with him on the overseas trip. Politico reported soon after that the activist “was in the room” when Hegseth “greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of their private meeting.”
The report added, “Posobiec — whose record of far-right activism includes promoting conspiracy theories and associating with white nationalists — has long been a controversial figure, and would have been considered fringe during prior administrations. But now, he’s in position to bear witness to key moments on one of the world’s most consequential issues.”
As the dust settled on the secretary’s trip, The New York Times reported, “In all, it was a bruising, 72-hour crash course in the geopolitical realities of a job that critics complain Mr. Hegseth, a 44-year-old former National Guard infantryman and Fox News host, is unqualified to hold.”
It’s important, of course, to hold Hegseth accountable for his own failures, but let’s not forget that Trump bears responsibility for nominating the former television personality; JD Vance bears responsibility for ensuring the secretary’s confirmation; and 50 Senate Republicans bear responsibility overlooking Hegseth’s scandals, inexperience and bizarre ideology.”
#Pete Hegseth#Fox News Clown#Drunken Rapist#republican assholes#maga morons#traitor trump#crooked donald#republican hypocrisy#republican values#Unfit#inexperienced#clown#in over his head#traveling with Neo-Nazi conspiracy theorist Jack Poseibec
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OK NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. NOOO NOOOOO NOOO NOOOOO NOOOO NOOO NO NOOO NOOO
#like i understand that it was inevitable really and the dream couldn't go on forever but IT COULD HAVE#IN MY HEAD IT COULD HAVE#anyway#devastated#even if he goes to the sens it's not the same#HE'S MEANT TO BE A BRUIN#I GET THAT PLAYERS MOVE#BUT DO NOT SEPARATE WAS THE RULE!!#i don't watch the sens as much as the bruins either bc often they play at the same time and bruins are my priority#or they play later and i'm too tired by then#and they aren't thriving right now#ully IS he's in his thirty flirty and thriving era!!#you can't send him to the sens when he's thriving!!!!!#look i love you ottawa but this is not it#i know i'm being dramatic but personally i think if i want a player to stay with us the hockey world should oblige me#gonna try and remain calm and treat this like silly season in f1 don't panic until it gets confirmed as true 3 days later :]
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