Adam Kinzinger roasts ‘try hard dork’ Pete Hegseth as he scrambles to clean up his own mess
If it weren’t such a flagrant and shocking breach of national security, the recent furor surrounding Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his pals would be quite relatable.
After all, who hasn’t accidentally added the wrong person to an email chain or Slack group at work? A slip of the finger, or just a minor brain fart, can lead to some funny situations. However, what Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Co. did by discussing confidential war plans over the commercial messaging service Signal and accidentally adding a journalist to their group text was not simply something that will one day become a hilarious anecdote to tell over drinks, as much as some conservative voices would like that to be the case.
With that all said, even in the near-lawless state of affairs that is the upper echelons of government under former Home Alone 2: Lost in New York actor Donald Trump, there has been some pushback against Hegseth and his colleagues’ actions. This has led to the newly installed Secretary of Defense having to defend himself, which he has done in several speeches and appearances over the past few days.
One soundbite from Hegseth’s “I’m Not Sorry” tour that caught people’s attention was the Secretary of Defense discussing how Trump told the former Army National Guard officer that he was going to “have to be tough as sh*t.”
After imitating the convicted felon and failed casino owner’s voice and mannerisms while quoting him, Hegseth went on to talk about a so-called “warrior ethos” and “accountability,” leading to some snide responses from political opponents, including a zinger from former congressman Adam Kinzinger.
“What a try hard dork,” posted Kinzinger on X.
Kinzinger has impressive military credentials, having served as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, so it’s fair to say he has the right to comment on those in defense roles in the current administration. It’s not difficult to see why this veteran is so frustrated with Hegseth’s attempt at leadership, especially in this instance. This isn’t the first time Kinzinger has hit back at currently serving Republican officials, however. Kinzinger has ruthlessly and rightfully disparaged and called out Trump’s administration at every turn.
Hegseth was one of several high-ranking government officials illegally using the messaging app Signal to coordinate a strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen who didn’t realize someone had inadvertently added The Atlantic journalist Jefferey Goldberg to the chat. After the military strike had occurred, and Goldberg had cleared everything with The Atlantic’s legal department, the news outlet released snippets of the conversation. The full log of chats was released days later after several Republican officials involved in it had attempted to downplay just how much critical information had been inadvertently revealed to the reporter.
White House communications are supposed to go through official channels for many reasons, with security being a chief concern. Signal does not meet the required security standards for this kind of discussion, and in this instance, Hegseth and his co-workers had the chats set to disappear after a certain time, meaning there wouldn’t have been a paper trail for this strike. Not great when it comes to any function of government, but particularly bad when it comes to a branch that has access to deadly weapons. Some voices in the Republican party have been making noises about this being an honest mistake that had no real repercussions, as the Houthis were targeted effectively. If these same people were to be asked about private email servers used by Hillary Clinton, we’re not so sure they would be quite as magnanimous.
As it is, Hegseth looks set to weather the storm. But, on the bright side, we’ve had some great jokes come from this whole thing, which is truly all we can hope for under the current administration.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
