Bill Kristol now likens Hegseth to human waste — but he sang a different tune not too long ago
President-elect Donald Trump enraged elements of the administrative state, the military-industrial complex, and the liberal media with his announcement Tuesday that he will be appointing decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth to run the Pentagon. Among those gnashing teeth and clutching pearls was unrepentant Iraq War advocate Bill Kristol.
KFile, the investigative outfit at CNN that previously highlighted some of Kamala Harris' more radical views, preemptively outed Kristol as two-faced, linking to a video of his glowing 2012 endorsement of Hegseth for a Senate seat in Minnesota.
Kristol now
In the pages of his never-Trump blog, Kristol called Hegseth — a two-time Bronze Star recipient who fought in a war initiated on the false premise Kristol promoted — "the lightest of lightweights," suggesting further he was "unfit" and would degrade the government.
After quoting Stephen K. Bannon, who allegedly told the financial journalist Michael Lewis that the way to deal with an oppositional media "is to flood the zone with s***," Kristol suggested that the same strategy is now in play and that Hegseth and Trump's other appointments are human waste.
Kristol, who served in the George H.W. Bush administration as well as on the late Sen. John McCain's failed presidential campaign, subsequently cast doubt on whether the U.S. Senate would ultimately confirm Hegseth.
"Even though the bulk of Trump’s embarrassing and unqualified appointments will get confirmed, his intention to nominate Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense gives defenders of good government and the rule of law a chance for a win," wrote Kristol. "Could Hegseth's nomination be defeated? Many Republican senators have dealt with Hegseth, and they know he's beyond unqualified for the position. Has there actually been a single statement from a Republican senator actually praising the choice? I'm not aware of one."
'There's so much he could do for this country.'
Kristol also busied himself this week sharing other attacks on Hegseth from other writers on his blog, including the suggestion from Annika Brockschmidt and Thomas Lecaque that Trump's proposed secretary of defense sees himself as a potential leader in a holy war — as some kind of neo-crusader knight whose Jerusalem cross and "Deus vult" tattoos serve as "warnings all over his body."
Kristol then
Prior to Kristol's meltdown, KFile's Andy Kaczynski shared the neocon's 2012 endorsement of Hegseth, where he said, "I've known Pete Hegseth for six or seven years. He's one of the most impressive young men I've met in Washington."
"Pete was 26, 27 years old, meeting with senators, meeting with senior administration officials. He was extremely impressive. He made his case like someone who had been around Washington for 20 years — but he also had served. He had served his country," continued Kristol. "I feel I know him well."
"I respect Pete. I admire what he's done and I think there's an awful lot, there's so much he could do for this country," added Kristol.
The neocon who wasted ink this week dehumanizing the secretary of defense nominee also noted in the endorsement video that Hegseth was an accomplished young man with vision and character.
"He is someone who served his country in the military, obviously, and put himself at risk," said Kristol. "I'd be proud and enthusiastic to vote for Pete Hegseth."
Kristol proved unwilling to change his mind about the disastrous and costly war in Iraq. It's unclear at what point he alternatively changed his mind about Hegseth, but Trump's success and non-interventionist foreign policy might have something to do with it.
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