Former Fox News personality turned President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon Pete Hegseth is facing intense scrutiny for his past words and actions including writing that NATO should be scrapped.
Hegseth is gearing up for what could be a brutal Senate confirmation fight after he was named Trump’s nominee for defense secretary where he could face tough questions on his world views.
In his 2020 book American Crusade, Hegseth leveled a series of criticisms against the NATO alliance, calling for it to be remade.
‘NATO is a relic and should be scrapped and remade in order for freedom to be truly defended,’ Hegseth wrote.
He also argued the ‘defense of Europe is not our problem; been there, done that, twice.’
NATO was established in the aftermath of World War II and currently has thirty-two member countries including the U.S. and Canada.
Hegseth also lobbed similar accusations to those Trump has made about NATO for years.
‘NATO is not an alliance; it’s a defense arrangement for Europe, paid for and underwritten by the United States,’ he wrote.
The president-elect has long accused member nations of taking advantage of the U.S., falsely accused members of not paying their bills, and repeatedly threatened to pull the country out of the alliance.
Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Friday in Florida where they discussed a range of security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson.
The president-elect’s defense secretary nominee not only claimed NATO is a relic but also claimed Europe had ‘already allowed itself to be invaded.’
‘It chose not to rebuild its militaries, happily suckling off the teat of America’s willingness to actually fight and win wars,’ he claimed.
Separately, the defense secretary nominee took issue in his book not just with the alliance but with its members, specifically Turkey.
‘Why is Islamist Turkey a member of NATO?’ he wrote.
Hegseth argued Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is an ‘Islamist with Islamist visions for the Middle East.’
NATO was not the only post-WWII agreements Hegseth has taken aim at. He has also dismissed the Geneva Conventions and its protocols.
The Geneva Conventions are treaties that include rules aimed at limiting the brutality of war.
In his 2024 book The War on Warriors, Hegseth questioned what the U.S. should do if enemies do not honor the Geneva Conventions.
‘What if we treated the enemy the way they treated us?’ Hegseth wrote.
‘Would that not be an incentive for the other side to reconsider their barbarism? Hey, Al Qaeda: if you surrender, we might spare your life. If you do not, we will rip your arms off and feed them to hogs,’ he went on.
Hegseth argued the U.S. is ‘just fighting with one hand behind our back – and the enemy knows it.’
He argued ‘who cares what other countries think?’
Hegseth’s argument for ignoring the Geneva Conventions comes as he has also long defended service members accused of war crimes during his time on television, arguing they were just doing their job.
While Hegseth has been tapped to lead the Pentagon with its three million service members and civilians, critics point out that he has no senior military leadership or national security experience.
He served in the Minnesota National Guard and then the Army National Guard where he was an infantryman in Iraq and counterinsurgency instructor in Afghanistan. He was also part of a security platoon at Guantanamo Bay.
On Sunday, Senator Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran, called him a ‘a pretty low ranking guy’ in the military who never even had a position commanding a company.
While Hegseth’s writings and comments about the military and policy are under the microscope, he is also facing criticism for arguing women should not serve in combat.
Earlier this month he repeated ‘we should not have women in combat roles.’ He claimed it has not made the U.S. military ‘more lethal.’
Meanwhile the 44-year-old nominee is also hampered by an allegation of sexual assault.
Hegseth was accused by a woman of an assault at a California hotel in 2017. He denied the allegations.
Hegseth was not charged as prosecutors said there was not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but Hegseth did pay the woman off to keep her quiet.