Trump’s Defense Pick Embarrasses Himself in Basic Geography Question

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, was unable to name a single country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations during his confirmation hearing Tuesday—even naming Australia instead.

Senator Tammy Duckworth asked Hegseth to speak to the importance of the political and economic alliance, in an effort to make a point of how unqualified he was to lead the Pentagon and its massive workforce.

“You talked about the Indo-Pacific a little bit.… Can you name the importance of at least one of the nations in ASEAN, and what type of agreement we have with at least one of those nations? And how many nations are in ASEAN, by the way?

“I couldn’t tell you the exact amount of nations in that, but I know we have allies in South Korea, and Japan, and in AUKUS with Australia, [we] work on submarines with them …”

“Mr. Hegseth none of those countries are in ASEAN. None of those three countries that you’ve mentioned are in ASEAN,” Duckworth replied. “I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations.”

“This might seem like a small, embarrassing gotcha, but ASEAN is an acronym you encounter a lot if you do even very basic reading about the Pentagon’s strategy to counter China,” Yahoo’s Jordan Weissman wrote on X.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The United States regularly conducts joint military exercises with the member states.

During his confirmation hearings for secretary of defense Tuesday, Pete Hegseth was asked about cashing in from the defense industry—and refused to give a straight answer.

Senator Elizabeth Warren pointed out that Hegseth had previously written that after generals retire from the military, they “should be banned from working for the defense industry for 10 years,” noting that she agrees with Hegseth “on the corrosive effects of the revolving door of the Pentagon and defense contractors.”

Warren then asked Hegseth, “Will you put your money where your mouth is and agree that when you leave this job you will not work for the defense industry for 10 years?”

At first, Hegseth tried to deflect, saying that “it’s not even a question I’ve thought about.” Warren pressed him further.

“My motivation for this job has never been about what could conceivably come next,” Hegseth replied, appearing to carefully weigh his words. Warren then asked point-blank for a yes or no answer, and Hegseth refused.

“I would consult with the president about what the policy should be at the Defense Department,” Hegseth said, and Warren was incredulous.

“In other words, you are quite sure that every general who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years. You’re not willing to make that same pledge?” the Massachusetts Democrat asked.

“I’m not a general, senator,” Hegseth replied, pointedly leaving the door open for a plum job from the defense industry in the future and drawing laughs in the hearing room.

“So you are saying, sauce for the goose but certainly not sauce for the gander?” Warren asked, with Hegseth again saying he’d have to see what the policy is, to which Warren replied, “Oh, I’ll bet you would.”

It’s a clear and obvious admission that Hegseth, now that he’s close to heading the Department of Defense, can see dollar signs down the road in the defense industry that he’s previously criticized. It’s another example of Hegseth backtracking on his earlier statements and writings in Tuesday’s hearing, but, in this case, on something that was actually a good idea.

Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he wants to invent a totally redundant federal statutory body.

“For far too long, we have relied on taxing our Great People using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Through soft and pathetically weak Trade agreements, the American Economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the World, while taxing ourselves. It is time for that to change,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Tuesday.

“I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources. We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share. January 20, 2025, will be the birth date of the External Revenue Service. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

For a guy interested in shrinking the size of government, Trump sure keeps adding to it. The U.S. already has a way of setting and collecting tariffs, but to Trump’s credit, it never had a stupid name before. After the secretary of the treasury establishes regulations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection—housed within the Department of Homeland Security—is responsible for administering the tariffs at U.S. ports of entry. The money is then deposited into the General Fund of the United States.

Trump has promised to enact 25 percent tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian goods on his first day in office—an economic show of force he clearly thinks could result in the annexation of Canada—and another 10 percent tariff on imports from China.

While Trump is at it, he could invent several other badly named governmental bodies to carry out his administration’s insipid agenda. Here are some humble suggestions:

1. Consumer Product Danger Commission: Determines whether products are getting too woke.
2. Environmental Defenselessness Agency: Ensures that the U.S. government can do whatever it wants to protected lands for the sake of endless production and accumulation of capital.
3. Anti-Social Security Agency: Destabilize Social Security by cutting payroll taxes. Hell, maybe take the whole thing private?

In any case, this whole thing feels eerily similar to his pitch to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” A purely aesthetic change that Trump imagines will build his legacy as a powerful leader—and not a global laughingstock.

From New York to San Francisco, Donald Trump’s return to the White House has greenlighted a corporate cultural regression, instantaneously allowing companies to backtrack on years of climate goals and diversity and inclusion efforts with the anti-woke politico on the horizon.

Wall Street brokers and tech bros alike are celebrating the switch, claiming that they no longer feel the need to culturally consider women, minorities, or disabled people while they talk, reported the Financial Times.

“I feel liberated,” one top banker told the paper. “We can say ‘retard’ and ‘pussy’ without the fear of getting cancelled.… It’s a new dawn.”

Those working in New York’s financial sector also feel that they can ditch their social causes. A number of major Wall Street banks and money managers have quit industry groups focused on climate change and cutting carbon emissions, feeling that they instead can go full-throttle on making money without facing social repercussions.

“Most of us don’t have to kiss ass because, like Trump, we love America and capitalism,” another Wall Streeter told the pink page.

Another major corporate shift has effectively left behind DEI initiatives. That began when the Supreme Court ruled on the diversity program in 2023, but the “trickle became a flood” after Trump’s election victory, with companies such as Harley Davidson, Ford, Molson Coors, Walmart, and McDonalds peeling back on their corporate diversity commitments, according to the Financial Times.

“They don’t want to be caught out promising and not delivering,” Richard Edelman, chief executive of public relations group Edelman, told the paper. “Companies are still committed to diversity and they’re committed to inclusion, they just don’t want to guarantee outcomes.”

Silicon Valley is also seemingly all in on Trump’s forthcoming presidency, with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos slated to attend the forty-seventh president’s inauguration next week alongside his Cabinet selections, according to NBC News.

The trio have courted Trump’s favor in the weeks since Trump won the presidential election, caving—in their own ways—to the climate of the forthcoming administration. Meta and X have heavily reduced their content-moderation policies, allowing disturbing language to circulate openly on their platforms, while Bezos canceled The Washington Post’s (which he owns) plans to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy.

A coalition of top tech heads, including Zuckerberg, Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, all pledged $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, according to the Financial Times.

Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, refused to answer a series of important questions during his confirmation hearing Tuesday.

“I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work, including by people who worked with you at Fox News,” Senator Mazie Hirono asked Hegseth. “Do you know that being drunk at work is prohibited for service members under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice)?”

“Senator, those are multiple false reports peddled by NBC News—”

“I’m not hearing the answer to my question,” Hirono said while Hegseth tried to speak over her.

“You recently promised some of my Republican colleagues that you stopped drinking, and won’t drink if confirmed, correct?” she continued. Hegseth confirmed it to be “absolutely” true.

“Will you resign as secretary of defense if you drink on the job, which is a 24/7 position?” Hirono followed up.

Hegseth started to answer the question indirectly, prompting Hirono to repeat the question. Hegseth again deflected. “I’m not hearing an answer to my question, so I will move on,” Hirono said again calmly.

Hegseth has been accused by former co-workers of being drunk on the job, even reportedly once yelling, “Kill all Muslims” while inebriated at a work event.

Hirono then moved on to questions about using police and the military against protesters.

“In 2020, then-President Trump directed former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown D.C., an order Secretary Esper refused to comply with. Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?” asked Hirono, referring to the Black Lives Matter protests that summer.

“I was in the National Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those events—”

Hirono interrupted, asking her question again: “Would you carry out an order to shoot protesters in the legs, as directed to Secretary Esper?” Hegseth continued talking while she talked.

“You know what, that sounds to me that you will comply with such an order; you will shoot protesters in the leg,” Hirono replied. “Moving on!”