r/politics • u/Fickle-Ad5449 ✔ Verified - Christopher Wiggins, The Advocate • 6h ago
No Paywall Pete Hegseth may have to testify under oath about his anti-trans slurs. A federal judge put the DOJ on notice
https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/pete-hegseth-transgender-slurs-deposition?1•
u/Browndogcane 6h ago
Pete Hegseth and MAGA world broadly are completely obsessed with transgender people.
If you spend a day watching Fox News they will mention trans people during every single hour, usually multiple times with segments dedicated to discussing the community.
Most pro-MAGA ads I’ve seen this election cycle discuss trans people, whether they’re running for US Senate or dogcatcher.
When historians write about this era, MAGA’s obsessive behavior about the transgender community will have its own chapter.
•
u/Basicly-Inevitable 6h ago
They've known the strategy works for nearly 100 years, because they used it in Germany too.
•
u/kahn-jr 5h ago
President Vonschitzenpants sleeps with a copy of mein kampf on his nightstand, kegsbreath has a nazi tattoo, fElon does the salute. All completely unoriginal little boys with an obsession for “real men” “masculinity” and “Christian culture” and no idea how to live in harmony with their fellow earthlings
•
u/Basicly-Inevitable 5h ago
You forgot Miller
•
u/CaptainOwlBeard 5h ago
Miller is super creepy, but as far as o know he hasn't done anything pro Nazi publicly like the others
•
u/ParadeSit Colorado 4h ago
His speech at the Kirk memorial sounded like Goebbels so much that numerous articles were written about it.
•
u/monkeysauce777 3h ago
What?
America is for Americans only. Remigration? This guys whole ideology is pulled from Nazi Germany.
•
u/CaptainOwlBeard 2h ago
Nationalist. Not all nationalists are Nazi. He's also an authoritarian. The others are literally throwing the salute, getting tattooed, and read the manifesto before bed. He's similar to a Nazi, but he isn't a Nazi. The others are literal neonazis
•
u/eugene20 2h ago
Literally everything he's ever said about immigrants?
•
u/CaptainOwlBeard 2h ago
That's not unique to Nazis. That's a nationalist thing. The fascists did the same
•
u/Basicly-Inevitable 5h ago
Because he's actually intelligent. He hides in the shadows.
•
u/CaptainOwlBeard 5h ago
I don't know about all that. I think his Jewish lineage just means he doesn't use Nazi iconography and sticks to just being an authoritarian sociopath with extreme nationalist ideology
•
•
u/AmyNotAmiable 3h ago edited 3h ago
It's really exhausting to have the leaders of your own military, health care, judicial, and consumer protection agencies all loudly calling for your blood.
But hey we look and sound weird sometimes, so I guess we deserve it.
Like, two years of this shit, goddamn. I'd almost rather they just go ahead and try to toss us all in camps already, the suspense is killing me.
•
•
u/Anonanomenon 2h ago
I’m trans and MAGA Republicans spend more time thinking about trans people than I do.
•
u/travio Washington 6h ago
Pro tip: when you are trying to claim kicking out trans folks from the military isn't motivated by bigotry toward trans folks, don't use anti trans slurs, and especially don't add them to the demented beat poetry you slammed in your Patton impression speech.
That's not just a telling slip of the tongue. That was in his prepared remarks!
•
u/Bittererr 6h ago
What are you talking about? The impetus for kicking trans people out of the military was explicitly about trans people being dishonorable liars from the very start. Like, that was the explicit language from the original executive order dropped in early 2025. They never actually made it about fitness or deployability or anything like that.
People keep trying to pretend that they have been playing games about why they're kicking out trans people but the current administration hasn't felt the need to have any plausible deniability for years now.
•
u/thecaptainking 5h ago
So you are correct, they are kicking out trans people pretty much out of bigotry. That said, the reason for the argument trying to argue that it’s not bigoted is due to the June court hearing, in which the DC appellate court ruled 2-1 that this was done in animus, and not due to any real readiness or military necessity. The admin is trying to appeal it at the Supreme Court and wants to show that it’s not just the bigotry that it is.
The executive order states that being trans “conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life", but also lists that they need to be “free of medical conditions or physical defects that may
reasonably be expected to require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization.”In addition, many of the filed legal responses by the administration attempt to highlight time and money lost due to trans medical care, but those arguments are quite weak.
So while this is all being done in broad daylight (and clumsily, might I add) for bigoted reasons, they are trying to add some thin layers of numbers and stats to say “well it’s the medical issue, not an equality problem!”. This is also amplified by the fact that they are using administrative separations, the process used for disciplinary removals, and not medical evaluation boards, the normal medical-based discharge process.
•
•
u/Bittererr 6h ago
Should Congress and the courts try to hold him accountable? Yes, absolutely.
Will this mollify him? Absolutely not, it's getting him attention so he's going to drop even more slurs. This administration feeds on it like a rebellious teenager.
•
u/maxxpower18 5h ago
May this and may that. Nothing will be done.
•
u/i_am_a_real_boy__ 2h ago
Yes, "may". Did you even read the article?
Reyes ultimately ordered Hegseth to answer written questions from attorneys who represent transgender service members challenging the ban. But she made clear that if his answers were evasive or inadequate, she would force him to sit for a deposition.
•
u/Vertual 2h ago
He only follows orders from his trans boss. The one always wearing heavy orange makeup and high heels, who loves Village People and musicals, and has a flair for interior decorating.
•
u/__dilligaf__ 1h ago
The one who referred to Arnold Palmer as 'all man' and just a couple of days ago said of Senator Husted 'I don't do this with men very often. I started examining his body... I looked at his ass' ? Who mimicked deep-throating a microphone onstage? That guy?
•
u/Aware_Cheesecake_519 America 6h ago
He won't want to.
•
u/DifficultPea4056 6h ago
He will have to. The time for strongly worded letters and rebukes are almost over
•
•
•
•
•
u/Junot_Nevone 24m ago
Does anyone think Hegseth or his orange overlord gives two shits about testifying under oath?
•
u/ObligationMurky8716 Alabama 17m ago
Imagine claiming you're kicking people out for "readiness" and then you go and do a hate speech on them
•
•
•
u/rangecontrol 2h ago
ahh yes, more culture war bullshit to keep us occupied while they loot the u.s. and kill with abandon.
•
u/AutoModerator 6h ago
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion.
In general, please be courteous to others. Argue the merits of ideas, don't attack other posters or commenters. Hate speech, any suggestion or support of physical harm, or other rule violations can result in a temporary or a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
Sub-thread Information
If the post flair on this post indicates the wrong paywall status, please report this Automoderator comment with a custom report of “incorrect flair”.
Announcement
r/Politics is actively looking for new moderators. If you have an interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out this form.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.