Pete Hegseth is having one of the worst weeks a Cabinet secretary has had in recent American history. It’s very richly deserved. He’s a bombastic idiot. He’s a liar. And he’s a weasel: Under fire for a second military strike on an alleged drug boat, which killed two survivors of the first strike and was possibly a war crime, he has publicly shifted all responsibility to a uniformed Naval officer who cannot defend himself in public. Finally, I’d add that he has utter contempt for the historic rules of honorable military engagement, but the video that emerged this week of him paying rhetorical homage to those rules back in 2016 when Democrats ran the Pentagon proves that he doesn’t even live according to that benighted "principle" and instead operates on the basis of no principle other than the usual Republican ones—political advantage and power.

He’s a disaster as defense secretary. But here’s a question that must be pondered this week: Didn’t we all know this? Wasn’t there ample reason to suspect that a talk-show host would be in way over his head in running the largest corporation in the U.S. government? Could anyone—anyone—look in the mirror back in January and say to themselves: "Yes, of all the possible nominees in this vast country to run the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth is the best possible choice"?

Of course we knew this. And yet, he made it through. Why? I see three reasons, all tangled up with one another, because they all describe different aspects of the total moral decay of the Republican Party.

Let’s start with the most obvious reason: Trump wanted him. In other words, no President Trump, no Secretary Hegseth, not in a jillion years. It took an ill-informed demagogue who dodged the draft and thinks soldiers buried in Arlington Cemetery are "suckers" and thinks cable news is the pinnacle of human endeavor to come up with an appointment like this. And this, as we all know, is why Trump chose him: He was a snarling cable host who looked the part and hated DEI. People knew at the time. Exiled Republican Adam Kinzinger posted last November, when Trump nominated Hegseth: "Wow. Trump picking Pete Hegseth is the most hilariously predictably stupid thing."

But of course, few Republicans were willing to say so, which brings us to reason two: the total abdication of constitutional responsibilities by Trump’s party. Well, not quite total. Three Republicans did vote against Hegseth: Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitch McConnell. JD Vance had to hustle up to the Capitol to break the tie.

But what that means is that 47 senators who had to know better (well, Tommy Tuberville excepted) voted for him. Mississippi’s Roger Wicker has been in the news this week because he chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee and is thus deeply involved in the question of how Congress will proceed in probing the second strike on that vessel on September 2. And, as Wicker is not tightly identified with the MAGA movement, I’ve seen him referred to this week as a comparative voice of reason.

Really? Go watch his statement back in January explaining his vote for Hegseth to see what a voice of reason he was then. "Admittedly, this nomination is unconventional," he allowed. But so was Trump, when he flitted down that escalator. "That may be what makes Mr. Hegseth an excellent choice," he continued. Hegseth would bring "a new warrior ethos" and "energy" and "fresh ideas." Those descriptors might in fact be accurate, but not in a good way.

Wicker has been around Washington for three decades. He’s a former Air Force officer. There is zero chance he actually believed those words that he spoke that January day. But he spoke them, and 46 of his colleagues mouthed similarly mendacious platitudes.

Those platitudes received endless repetition on Fox News and the other right-wing propaganda outlets, which brings us to the third reason why it’s possible for such an unqualified hooligan to lead the world’s largest military. The right-wing "media" serves as an enforcer in such situations. GOP senators know very well that if they break with Trump on a big vote, the propaganda mill will target them, and that rich agribusiness magnate back home who’s a MAGA fire-breather will primary them next time, and Trump will endorse him, and goodbye Senate.

These outlets also enforce the acceptance of a certain reality among the rank and file—in which, in the current case, all the talk last winter about Hegseth’s drinking problem and his running that nonprofit into the ground were just deep-state lies. They create for the audience a world that is the direct opposite of reality.

Speaking of which … a poll came out this week—commissioned by the conservative Manhattan Institute, no less—that sought to give America a fuller portrait than we usually get of the beliefs and feelings of today’s GOP. The pollster asked a few questions about conspiracy theories. Find your hat, please, and hold onto it.

One-third, exactly 33 percent, think vaccines cause autism. A little more, 36 percent, think NASA faked the moon landing. Also, 37 percent think the Holocaust was "greatly exaggerated." Forty-one percent think the September 11 attacks were carried out by actors beyond Al Qaeda and were "likely orchestrated or permitted by the U.S. government." And 51 percent, as opposed to 40 percent who disagreed, believe the 2020 election was stolen. (Interesting side result, on another question: Fifteen percent of the poll’s respondents admitted to being racist!)

I’m not saying we can trace all this directly to Fox News. As far as I know, even Fox isn’t peddling Faurisson-esque Holocaust denialism. But Fox and the others have certainly promoted a milieu in which their consumers are encouraged to question nearly all statements of fact if liberals seem to believe those facts. From there, the algorithms of social media take over, and we’re off to the parallel-reality races.

It’s no wonder in such a world that a man like Hegseth could rise to his current position, sustained and protected by cowardice and lies. And it’s no wonder that he’s ordering the clearly illegal targeting of vessels and making allegations about them without offering any evidence. This is exactly where the moral rot that has consumed the Republican Party in this century was bound to land us.

Join a special group of readers and supporters on a lovingly designed, all-inclusive tour of one of the most spellbinding places in the world. Drawing on The New Republic’s special contacts among local historians, artists, and chefs, we’ve created a first-class experience that will immerse you in Cuba’s colorful and unique history, politics, and culture.

Previous quiz, two weeks ago: "Over the river and through the woods …" On Thanksgiving dinner.

1. About how many turkeys are slaughtered per year in the U.S. in factory farms, where they have their beaks and toes removed without any anesthetics and sometimes die of starvation because they’re grown to such an unnatural weight that they can’t even bend down to reach their food?

A. 50 million

B. 175 million

C. 300 million

D. 600 million

Answer: C, 300 million, according to this. Some sources say it’s more like 220 million. These sources seem to agree that the number slaughtered for the holidays is just under 50 million, which leaves a lot more non-holiday slaughtering than I’d have thought. Who eats turkey in May?

2. What was likely the main meat course at the first Thanksgiving?

A. Goose

B. Venison

C. Grouse

D. Turkey

Answer: B, venison. See here, for example. Plus duck and goose and probably some turkey and maybe even lobster.

3. In a pre-Thanksgiving poll taken last year, what percentage of Americans expected to eat turkey for Thanksgiving dinner?

A. 59 percent

B. 67 percent

C. 79 percent

D. 86 percent

Answer: B, 67 percent, according to this. Seems a little low to me, no? It’s estimated that only about 4 percent of Americans are vegetarian. That leaves a lot of carnivores who didn’t eat turkey. What, then? 

4. What is the traditional liquid element of a green bean casserole, the kind like mom used to make?

A. French onion soup

B. Evaporated milk

C. A blend of Swanson’s chicken stock and Crisco

D. Condensed mushroom soup

Answer: D, mushroom soup. I have to say, this is one classically of-its-time midcentury dish I don’t recall my mother making. She went in pretty heavily for those Cool Whip–Jell-O things (although just with fruit, blessedly, and no horseradish or anything weird like that). But I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten a classic green bean casserole, which evidently was born in the Campbell’s test kitchen in 1955. 

5. Where and when did the idea of putting marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes originate?

A. New York, 1906

B. Boston, 1917

C. Nashville, 1923

D. New Orleans, 1930

Answer: B, Boston in 1917. Thank the Angelus Marshmallow Company and a certain Janet McKenzie Hill, whom the company hired to push the marriage of spud and confection.

6. What presidential administration in what year declared "poultry-less Thursdays," almost killing off that year’s Thanksgiving until it reversed itself under immense public pressure, and why did it do so?

A. Theodore Roosevelt’s, 1911, because of a poultry epidemic

B. Herbert Hoover’s, 1930, because of Depression-related supply chain disruptions

C. Harry Truman’s, 1947, because of postwar rationing

D. Gerald Ford’s, 1975, because of rampant inflation

Answer: C, Truman’s. Story here. There were still shortages, and Truman was encouraging people to send food to Europe. He and Bess cheated and ate turkey that Wednesday. 

This week’s quiz: "Dear little girl and boy land …" With 20 shopping days till Christmas, a quiz on the history of toys.

1. The oldest one of these dates back to 3,500 BCE Iraq.

A. Yo-yo

B. Spinning top

C. Stuffed animal

D. Rattle

2. This toy aimed at boys was the first toy to be the subject of a major national advertising campaign in the United States.

A. Erector set

B. B-B gun

C. Tyke-sized baseball bat, ball, and glove

D. Paddle ball

3. The great toy explosion in America came after the war. List these five iconic 1950s toys in the order in which they were marketed on a broad scale (some were technically "invented" earlier): the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop, Mr. Potato Head, Barbie, Play-Doh.

4. Now do the same with these five classic toys that debuted in the 1960s: Lite-Brite, G.I. Joe, Easy-Bake Oven, Twister, Spirograph.

5. What’s the standard retail price of an American Girl doll in their historical series (i.e., their most popular and best-known line)?

A. $80

B. $110

C. $135

D. $200

6. Of the three major gaming platforms—Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2—which has the most sales so far in 2025? 

I acknowledge that 3 and 4 are pretty hard, but I wrote those questions just to be able to mention as many toys from the golden era as possible. It was hard to limit it to five each decade (I mean, the ’60s included Rock ’Em-Sock ’Em Robots!). Answers next week. Feedback to fightingwords@tnr.com.

—Michael Tomasky, editor 

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