Fox News host and New York Times bestselling author Pete Hegseth is skeptical that a Biden administration would prioritize the United States’s interests and veteran’s issues.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Hegseth said Joe Biden’s foreign policy objectives would be an “Obama 2.0,” returning to a “social justice, politically correct Pentagon” rather than focus on new strategies to deal with adversaries such as China and Iran. Biden, he says, would likely change President Trump’s approach of “energy independence” that prevents the U.S. from being “dependent” on resources in the Middle East.
“Joe Biden is too busy fighting climate change,” Hegseth said when asked how veterans might feel about Biden’s foreign policy approach compared to Trump’s focus on “endless wars.”
“He doesn’t have that much time for real enemies of our country, which is, I guess, in some ways a good thing, but not really. With China growing the way they are, we have to reorient the way we deploy and project our power in a way that can deter them. And with our own energy independence, thanks to the Trump administration which has unleashed an energy renaissance,” Hegseth said. “We don’t have to be dependent on the Middle East the way we have been in the past. Now, Joe Biden would like to go back to that by strangling our energy industry and forcing us to go backward, which would create a whole cascading set of geopolitical effects.”
Hegseth is the author of Modern Warriors: Real Stories from Real Heroes. In the book, he provides testimonials from 15 war fighters, including Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Marines, who discuss their personal experiences on the battlefield and what it is like to return home after conflict. He said that his interactions with Veterans revealed an appreciation for how Trump performed as commander in chief during his first term, including his focus on eliminating the threat of radical Islamic terror.
Hegseth said the public should wait for the results of the election to “play out” as Trump’s legal team continues to allege claims of voter fraud, though most have of the president’s legal efforts have been unsuccessful in court. He said part of Trump’s legacy includes shaking up a “foreign policy consensus” on conflict abroad.
“Donald Trump has — he taught a lot of us lessons about that, myself included. And once you understand, and I saw first-person in Iraq and Afghanistan, but if they’ve had 20 years to get it done, it’s time for them to stand on their own two feet. There’s ways to stare down our enemies like Iran in a more targeted way than having to start wars,” the Fox News host said.
“And it’s not clear that Joe Biden, as a member of the foreign policy establishment in Washington, who’s been wrong about everything, would not fall in a trap of starting a war that we don’t need to be in for a decade. So, I think there was a lot of appreciation amongst warriors for an ‘America First’ policy which has the backs of trigger pullers but also isn’t fast and loose of how and when to deploy people, which is the kind of combination you want,” he said.
Hegseth said Trump’s approach on foreign policy, which includes stopping “endless wars,” may have a dent in Biden’s thinking in office. He added that Trump took a “tough stance during a time when there was still this warped bipartisan consensus that there was a peaceful rise in China, that opening and trading with them would lead them to be more open.”
“He blew that wide open, exposed them. Then the China virus put an exclamation point on it. You can’t put that perspective back in a box,” Hegseth continued. “A possible Biden administration would be soft on China, but they’ll be forced to talk like they’re tough because the reality has been laid before us.”
Hegseth’s book highlights the transition combat soldiers face when leaving the military for civilian life, one he says is very difficult to make. He says their skill sets include qualities of leadership, hard work, respect, love of country, and other technical skills that make them assets in the workforce.
The Veteran’s Administration, a large topic of discussion when speaking about veteran’s issues, doesn’t come up in his book because veterans, especially modern warriors, don’t have “any expectations of the VA.” The Fox host said VA reforms pushed by Trump have helped veterans receive healthcare but changing technology and circumstances have changed their dependence on the government agency.
Hegseth said he hopes his book will “motivate” people to find a “sphere in their own life where they can sacrifice more, give more.”
“These guys put on a uniform, went to foreign lands, and did things most people can’t ever imagine. A lot of the threats we face today are not on foreign battlefields, and they require robust, courageous, tough citizens at home. We’re seeing it every day, so I hope it’s an eye-opener and a motivator back to first principles,” he said.
