Veterans Day disgrace: Hegseth dishonors Arlington departed
It's Veterans Day. And the Secretary of Defense – and indeed the entire Trump Administration – is a disgrace to the United States Military.
The guy who desperately wants to be known as the Secretary of War embarrassed himself and the department he supposedly runs, and really all the rest of us today.
At a photo op at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. – probably the most solemn war memorial in the country – this afternoon, he dishonored the memorial, and the military.
He and a small group including his wife and his Chief of Staff, posed for a "fun pic" in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which commemorates unidentified service members who died in foreign wars going back to WWI.
That was already tasteless enough – but as they dropped their draped arms and began walking up the steps, engaged in some light-hearted banter, a couple of them began laughing rather loudly in reaction to some no-doubt clever quip.
That prompted a very loud vocal rebuke from the soldier who patrols the monument – this soldier shouted, barked, at the group: "All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times," visibly startling them, including Whiskey Pete himself.
The stone-faced sentinel then continued his pacing.
Occasionally, the rotating guards who patrol the monument have to remind visitors of the nature of this ultra-solemn location, correcting tourists and other visitors as necessary.
But we would all expect the DEFENSE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to be cognizant and observant of this rule that 8th-graders are firmly instructed of during school class trips to D.C.
Pete Hegseth is a fucking disgrace to the Armed Services, and to this entire country.
I'm wondering if today's soldier will face a reprimand for reprimanding the Defense Secretary so loudly, so gruffly, so firmly, so publicly. [Ed. note: The next day, 11/12, Hegseth publicly presented the soldier with an award for his act.]
The whole thing was caught on camera, of course, and I'm sure you'll be seeing much of this embarrassment for a long time.
This follows weeks of bluster and attempted activity to try to get Trump's Triumphal Arch built in D.C. in a rush job – a monument universally opposed across the board for a variety of reasons – one being, the proposed monument would literally overshadow Arlington National Cemetery – at a proposed 250 feet high at Memorial Circle, blocking the grounds from sunlight. No matter to Trump, full speed ahead.
These people Do Not Respect The Troops. They are not patriots, and anyone who thinks they are is a fool.
This all comes hours after Whiskey Pete barely survived an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives last night – 8 articles of impeachment were brought by a Republican, Thomas Massie, the Representative from Kentucky.
Outgoing Speaker of the House Mike Johnson shut down voting before all members could get there – including 11 Democrats who did not arrive in chambers on time. Several of them were reportedly and verifiably stuck in D.C. traffic on the way in, as the vote was abruptly closed – with one Rep arriving literally one minute too late. Not that it would have saved. it. Others, like Nancy Pelosi, were not in D.C. last night for the vote.
They will have to answer for themselves.
If 7 of them had arrived on time to vote, that would have sent the impeachment charges to the Senate for conviction and removal. Not this time.
Before Tuesday's vote, Hegseth held a press conference at the Pentagon – his first press conference in more than 6 months ago. We are engaged in a war, by the way.
Kid Rock's best pal claimed the impeachment disrespects the troops, not him personally.
Shortly after Tuesday's voting, on Twitter, the Defense Department posted an A.I.-generated image of Massie crying tears. The United States Department of Defense trolled a U.S. Congressman on Elon Musk's Nazi platform.
This shit should outrage every American, not just the troop-kissers.
So, Pete's inevitable impeachment will have to wait about 8 more weeks, until the new Congress is sworn in. At which point the House and the Senate have enough votes to kick his ass out.
Let us also take a moment to note how much of a disaster the Department of Veterans Affairs has been over the previous decades, and as it remains under the Trump Administration – despite Trump's campaign promise that an efficiency overhaul would be high on his agenda.
Has not happened. In fact, things are worse than ever.
In a recent report by ProPublica, some eye-opening factors are noted.
The Veterans Health Administration provides healthcare service to more than 6 million veterans – it's the largest health system in America, by the way.
By the Veterans Administration's own numbers: Of the veterans who took their own lives in 2023 – almost 7,000 of them – the majority, at 61 percent, were not getting VA care over the year prior to their deaths.
There are reportedly thousands of requests for care that are not being met, and many vets are waiting for more than a month – sometimes more than 3 months – just to make appointments for care. Officially, that's supposed to take no more than 7 days by the way.
It's estimated at least 32,000 United States military veterans are homeless.
That's just a snapshot of the failures of the Veterans Administration – again, not limited to this administration, but definitively worse this time around.
Both my grandfathers were soldiers and fought the fascists and Nazis in World War II. They'd be appalled by the state of this country today, both in its capitulation to fascists – and the dishonorable treatment military veterans receive after their service.
Introduce articles of impeachment for everyone in the Trump Cabinet, day after day after day. It's not just affordability that the American People voted for last week – people want justice, and retributive action.