Trump issues warning: U.S. 'can't have a woke military'
'Fox & Friends Weekend' co-host Pete Hegseth weighs in after former President Donald Trump argued the military needs to be focused on winning wars, not being woke.
Fox News host Pete Hegseth joined the U.S. military to fight extremists, but, with the political turn taken by many of America's most sacred institutions under the Biden administration, he was later seen as an extremist himself.
"It's a story I haven't told before," Hegseth told "Fox & Friends" as he sat down on Monday to discuss his new book "The War on Warriors."
"I found out the depths of it while writing the book," he continued.
"I was in the National Guard during the inauguration of Joe Biden, so I served under Bush, served under Obama, served under Trump, and now was going to guard the inauguration because I was in the D.C. guard… ultimately, members of my unit in leadership deemed that I was an extremist or a white nationalist because of a tattoo I have, which is a religious tattoo. It's a Jerusalem cross. Everybody can look it up, but it was used as a premise to revoke my orders to guard the inauguration."
Pete Hegseths new book "The War on Warriors" highlights the military's shift toward leftist ideology. (Fox & Friends/Screengrab)
Hegseth posited whether the reason for the revoked order boiled down to other factors – his support for former President Donald Trump or perhaps even the left labeling him a "patriot extremist."
The book, available on Tuesday, follows that never-before-told story, homing in on how the military went "woke," and concludes by answering a question.
"Do I want my kids to serve?" he asked. "This is a family business in many ways, and we need patriots serving if we're going to preserve our military."
Fox News host Pete Hegseth sat down with Ainsley Earhardt to discuss his new book on Monday. (Fox & Friends/Screengrab)
"Woke" policies in the U.S. armed forces have been under conservative scrutiny in recent years, with some alleging the shifted messaging on race, gender and politically slanted teachings are to blame for the ongoing recruiting crisis.
Even former President Donald Trump insisted in a recent "Fox & Friends Weekend" interview that the U.S. "can't have a woke military."
"You need people that want to win. They want to win wars. That's what their purpose is. To win wars, not to be woke," he told Hegseth in the interview that aired Sunday.
TRUMP VOWS TO FIRE GENERALS WHO PUSH WOKENESS: ‘YOU CAN’T HAVE A WOKE MILITARY
Former President Donald Trump spoke to the co-hosts of "Fox & Friends Weekend" for an exclusive interview that aired in pieces on Sunday. During the interview, he discussed "wokeness" in the U.S. military. (Fox & Friends Weekend/Screengrab)
Hegseth told Ainsley Earhardt, Monday, he thinks Trump's remarks were right and proceeded to rip the Pentagon for the left-leaning rhetorical shift he hones in on in his book.
"The Pentagon likes to say ‘our diversity is our strength.’ What a bunch of garbage. In the military, our diversity is not our strength. Our unity is our strength, and we need a commander-in-chief that understands that. Donald Trump certainly does," he said.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO FOX NATION
Joined by a panel of fellow warriors, Hegseth uncovers the deep roots of our current military's dysfunction in an accompanying Fox Nation special of the same name as his new book.
Combining his own war experiences, tales of "wokeism," and an incisive look at how the chain of command got so kinked, subscribers can stream the special to learn the key to saving our warriors—and winning future wars.
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