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Federalist Radio Hour
Inside Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon Transformation Operation
00:44:57
On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Justin Fulcher, a former senior adviser to Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to discuss cultural transformation of the Department of War...
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- [00:00]
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- [00:32]
Matt Kittle
And we are back with another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, senior elections correspondent at the Federalist and your experience Sherpa on today's quest for knowledge. As always, you can email the show at radiohefderalist.com follow us on x@fbrlst. Make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcast and of course, to the premium version of our website as well. Our guest today is Justin Folter, the former senior advisor to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a guy who knows a thing or two about what is happening in terms of where this department is and where it plans to to go. Well, thank you, Justin, for joining us on this edition of the Federalist Radio Hour.
- [01:23]
Justin Fulcher
Thanks so much for having me.
- [01:25]
Matt Kittle
You bet. Well, let's begin. What is it like working at the new Department of War? Lots of changes going on there over the last year. And I know you worked there for, for six months and until you, you moved on. But what was that experience like working.
- [01:42]
Justin Fulcher
Working alongside Secretary Hegseth was an incredible experience. And yeah, over, over the past year, we've seen tremendous changes, I think, you know, not only from, you know, a cultural shift and getting back to, you know, focusing on what matters, which is war fighting and being prepared, you know, for war to ultimately, you know, pursue the peace through strength agenda. But overall, I mean, on top of the cultural changes, I think we've just seen, you know, Secretary Hagseth really move out quickly on trying to pursue, you know, increased efficiency, you know, looking at how can we equip our warfighters with the equipment they need quickly, you know, not five or 10 years late and over budget and ultimately, you know, it was an honor of a lifetime to, to support him and of course, you know, support President Trump's agenda.
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Matt Kittle
Yeah, you're right. I mean, they, what we have seen in the first year of the what was known as the department defense is a real shift in focus that is making sure that America is ready for war. And that's the best way many will argue to keep the peace. So that's the question I have for you. Based on what you have seen and based on your contacts at the Department of War, are we prepared? Are we as prepared as we need to be?
- [03:05]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think we've seen over the past year major systematic changes to realign our military and the War Department to focus on what actually matters, which is no more dei, no more distractions, no more climate change, but instead focusing on the real issues that matter, which is making sure that the US Military and the War Department is completely prepared for whatever contingency happens across the globe. And I think Secretary Hagseth, you know, deserves enormous credit for the work that he's done in changing the culture to shift from perhaps an ambiguous mission set previously to now a very, very clear, mission focused and aligned organization that's focused on war. Hopefully we don't have to use it, but ultimately that's the only way that peace through strength can really be upheld held is if our adversaries believe that we are truly prepared and equipped. And I think Secretary Hegseth has done a phenomenal job of getting back to the basics, but back to the things that matter to prepare our warfighters in case any situation breaks out.
- [04:17]
Matt Kittle
The Secretary has certainly excelled at ruffling the feathers of the establishment deep within the military complex and deep within the military industrial complex. How is that going after a year on the front lines of that important battle?
- [04:42]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think a lot of significant changes have been made in terms of, you know, challenging the status quo. And, you know, there's a lot of always a lot of complaints around, you know, delivery times and, you know, capabilities that are promised that may not be, you know, fully lived up to what was shared. And I think Secretary Hegseth and the team has gotten to the heart of the problem, which is holding large organizations accountable, but ultimately demanding excellence across not just our war fighters, but across any contractor in the defense industrial base that is serving the Department of War. I mean, he's for the past couple of weeks, gone out on his arsenal of freedom tour, which I think is really focused on highlighting these issues firsthand, which is going around. And of course there's great photo ops and there's great meetings happening and displays of defense industrial based power. But also behind closed doors, he is absolutely pursuing accountability to make sure that this defense industrial base is completely restarted so that in the event that it's needed, all of the capabilities can be in the hands of war fighters very quickly.
- [05:56]
Matt Kittle
You were a senior advisor there. Let me ask you this. Did you advise the Secretary on fat generals and whipping them back into shape? What area areas did you offer advice regarding our defense?
- [06:15]
Justin Fulcher
That was something he took on firsthand and, you know, the fitness standards and, you know, making sure that you Know, everybody's held to the same, same standard of excellence, you know, something he took on firsthand. One of the areas that I had the, you know, the opportunity of serving was really looking at this defense industrial based challenge as well as, you know, how can the Pentagon very quickly adopt new technologies? So, for example, things like the drone dominance initiative, where there was a huge shift in war fighting that we've seen in Ukraine, where now you have very cheap, attritable systems that are changing on almost a weekly or monthly basis. And so really looking at how can the Department of War actually field these capabilities very quickly? And instead of taking one to two years to procure a system, how can we do this in a matter of weeks? And so really looking at those sorts of issues of the defense industrial base, supply chain procurement challenges, and looking at how can we shift the Department of War to acquire these capabilities quicker, but also how can we look at perhaps some of the new, innovative, up and coming technology? And instead of just awarding contracts to the large defense primes, how can we bring in the latest and greatest technology to the War Department to really give our war fighters and our troops the absolute best technology and capabilities they need to win if they're called upon?
- [07:45]
Matt Kittle
Well, we know that Donald Trump is a builder. He's been a builder all of his life. And so it's no surprise that he wants to build up this, this military. Look at what's happening, particularly in, in the Navy and what we're seeing, as you just mentioned, in the Air Force and air warfare and air to ground warfare as well. How deficient was this military, to the best of your knowledge, coming in from four years of the Biden administration?
- [08:23]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I witnessed it firsthand when we, when we came in, into office. And, you know, we were really assessing. One of the first things we did was assess, you know, where things stood so that we could take an honest, you know, gap analysis of, you know, where things were strong or maybe areas that were neglected. And unfortunately, we found, you know, many areas, including, you know, the defense industrial base, as well as, like, critical and emerging technologies that were unfortunately, in many cases, completely ignored under the previous administration. And so one of the first things we did was, you know, as Secretary Hegseth asked us to do, is to do an honest assessment of where those gaps are so that we could just face it head on. And we knew that there was going to be some big challenges considering the previous administration just underinvested in some of these areas. And we just wanted to understand where things were so that we could get after it and really try to make the department significantly better. We had a lot of catching up to do after four years of neglect. But ultimately, I think what we've seen in the past year is a complete 180 in terms of not only just a huge cultural shift, but actually turning that talk and cultural shift into real action.
- [09:40]
Matt Kittle
Yeah. And I would assume that this is a department that is committed to not giving up billions of dollars in military equipment to the Taliban. So that's a, that's a good first step. Beyond the Biden administration, you also worked at the doge, the Department of Government Efficiency. And, and you did some work at the Pentagon. How much waste were we seeing? And waste is always a problem through government and we have massive amounts of it. But one of the biggest areas of waste we've seen over the years, of course, has been at the Pentagon. What did you find there with your work with doge?
- [10:24]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think, you know, the Pentagon was a target rich environment for, for waste, fraud and abuse, unfortunately. And so, you know, we saw a huge amount of waste that, you know, we were able to get after. But I think, you know, waste could be defined in two primary categories. You, the first one is companies that are just completely overcharging the government. In some cases 10 to 20x what they're selling to the private sector. But then the other, I think more nefarious ways that we witnessed was the delays on delivery. There are companies that were 5, 7, 10 years behind on delivering capabilities. And, and when you see this, it's not just the dollars that are being wasted, but it's also the opportunity cost of not getting the technology and the capabilities that we need for our warfighters to have so that they're best equipped to go out and win the fight. And so for us, we really divided it into those two categories of looking at where is kind of the raw waste, fraud and abuse happening, but then also trying to flag areas where programs were significantly delayed and behind schedul and flagging those for Secretary Hegseth so that, you know, he and the team could ultimately engage there and, and look at holding these companies accountable.
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Matt Kittle
Yeah, yeah. I grew up in, in Wisconsin and I can tell you that when I was a kid, seemingly three centuries ago now, when I was a kid back in the 70s and 80s, there was a, a politician there by the name of William Proxmire. And William Proxmire had what was called the Golden Fleece Award. And he was maybe the last Democrat who concerned himself with waste, fraud and abuse. But he really was, had a sharp eye on this stuff and he would talk about constantly, you know, the golden hammer in the military or the, you know, the thousand dollar toilet seat, just as you mentioned, just the, the overcharging. Why do, why do you think why, when we have nationally so much respect for our, our military, for the service members, yet so many companies out there don't have respect for the American taxpayer paying for these service members and, and what they do.
- [13:03]
Justin Fulcher
Right. And I think, you know, that's something where, you know, for years, and especially, you know, in the four, four years before the second Trump administration, it was absolutely clear that these companies became extremely complacent because there was no accountability. They could essentially get away with charging the government, you know, almost anything they wanted. And they could also completely disregard any sort of, you know, deadlines. And that's not to say that, you know, this is every single company that was serving the department, but this happened, you know, with billions and billions of dollars being wasted. And so I think, you know, what Proxmire was, was getting at is, is spot on, which is, you know, government waste, fraud and abuse. I mean, they're not partisan problems. These are. The Pentagon has been plagued by these for a long time, and in many ways they're institutional. And I think ultimately where Secretary Hegseth deserves immense credit is for, you know, taking this on firsthand and actually, you know, holding these companies accountable, which, with all the, the vested interests and in Washington, it's incre. Difficult to do because of all the different lobbying dollars in Congress and so many vested interests that are incentivized to keep this waste, fraud and abuse in place. So I have immense respect for Secretary Hegseth taking that on firsthand, and I think he deserves a tremendous amount of credit.
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Matt Kittle
Yeah, I hope that that success continues moving forward because as I said, this thing has been going on for a long time. I mean, Simon Cameron, who was Secretary of War during the Lincoln administration, you know, was caught up in all kinds of graft and all kinds of abuses and fraud and, you know, shoes falling apart for union soldiers on the front lines because they had contractors who absolutely took advantage of the situation. And, and again, that goes on yet today, and it sounds like the Department of War is, is really looking into and addressing some of those larger areas. Now let's talk a little bit about the politics of this all. And I know that Secretary Hegseth is not one to tolerate a lot of politics in the Pentagon. That said, nothing is in a vacuum and what he does and what that department does is constantly being scrutinized by media generally, the accomplice media harshly, and of course, their friends, the. In the Democrat Party. Now, there have been some bumps and bruises along the way. I mean, signal gate, that was no picnic. And there were clearly some, some problems there, particularly letting someone from the Atlantic in on something like that, let alone, you know, anybody, you know, but there, there has been a drive, and there certainly was early on before confirmation of Pete Hexseth and then after confirmation to just destroy this guy. I mean, the full fire of the Democrat machine and the, the corporate media machine was on taking this guy out. He has admirably survived and thrived all of that. Is the, the. Is. Is he still dealing with the kind of, you know, fire that, that he has. He had seen earlier, and we just. We're just not necessarily seeing that in the news today.
- [16:54]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think, you know, certainly the media has, has not let up in any ways, you know, towards Secretary Heath. But I will say I think they've realized that, you know, his tenacity and focus, it's. It's almost wasted energy to try to go after him. I mean, they, they put every single, you know, effort they could in the early days of the, the administration to just do whatever they could to try to discredit and frankly, try to push him out of, of his position as, as Secretary of War. And I think, you know, ultimately, you know, he persevered through that and, and, you know, there's. There any department is, Is never perfect. But I think, you know, despite the immense pressure, he's handled this situation extremely well. And I mean, everything from, you know, Operation Midnight Hammer, the Maduro raid, I mean, this just goes to show that, you know, despite, you know, nothing happening in a vacuum, his resolve has resonated, you know, across the admin and frankly, across the world with, with the effects that the Department of War have. Have made.
- [18:03]
Matt Kittle
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- [20:13]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think, you know, ultimately he handles it extremely well. He's, he's focused on, on the mission and the why, you know, ultimately. But, you know, ultimately the, the mission is what, you know, allows him to, to transcend these distractions, and that's what they are. I mean, the, the media has constantly berated Secretary. He even, even in some of the, the most positive, you know, successful missions like Operation Midnight Hammer, you know, within hours of announcing the strikes, you know, the corporate media machine had completely, you know, tried to discredit every single step along the way of a successful operation. And so, you know, it's, it's kind of sad to say, but, you know, he could, he could literally do anything and then get criticized. And that's, you know, ultimately, I think it speaks to his character of, of really having that resolve under pressure and being able to, you know, maintain the focus on the mission despite, you know, the public narrative from corporate media just absolutely being against him every step of the way.
- [21:19]
Matt Kittle
I think it's a reflection of how they feel about his boss, obviously, the commander in chief, President of the United States, Donald Trump. I mean, we've said it before. Trump could literally cure cancer. And you would have the corporate media and the left is saying, well, he wasn't equitable about whatever their excuses. He, they would find some way to vilify him for that. And I think Hegseth, you know, fits into that not just because, you know, he serves President Donald Trump, but because he also has many of the, you know, the same fighting instincts to, to go up against corporate media, to go up against these allegations and charges and, and the narrative. And I think that's why he has based on the people I'm other folks, I'm talking to Pentagon sources and others who are, are close to them. He's had a great deal of success working with the, the most important people and that's the, the front line people. You know, the people, the soldiers, the troops, the sailors, the, the pilots, you know, that that's who he's really reached is. Is that what you have seen as well?
- [22:44]
Justin Fulcher
I've seen it firsthand. I mean there's one, one event stands out, you know, very clearly when, when we visit Guam and you know, we roll up to the, this aircraft hangar and you know, there's hundreds of, you know, our, our men and women in uniform there. And, and I mean they're extremely excited when he, he walks up on the stage. They're cheering, they're incredibly fired up. And it's just so clear that there's been 180 degree cultural shift in terms of actually serving the people that matter, not corporate interests, but, but you know, our men and women in uniform. And I think Secretary Hagseth made that, you know, his top priority and, and a core part of his ethos for anything that he did. And I think the troops, you know, certainly recognize that. And I think, you know, he's seen the most success there, which in my opinion is, you know, very clearly the most important constituent that matters.
- [23:40]
Matt Kittle
Our guest today is Justin Fulcher, former senior advisor to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth joining us on this edition Federalist Radio hour. Let's talk about some of those campaigns, the use of that Department of War, I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, you were there when the call came to target those bunkers with those bunker busting bombs in Iran. Can you give us a sense of what that was like? Because that was a huge decision and a huge moment for this department, for foreign policy for this country.
- [24:25]
Justin Fulcher
Absolutely. And I think, you know, it was definitely a humbling humbling moment. And you know, any, any use of force or contemplation of, of use of force is, is something that, you know, both the President, Secretary Hegseth and, and every single connected with, at the Department of War took extremely seriously. And Iran was a situation where President Trump made the consequences very clear that if they don't abandon their nuclear program that there would be consequences. And I think ultimately in the days and weeks leading up to that, a lot of different options were of course reviewed. And Secretary Haig says first priority was how can we execute any sort of operation that would minimize the potential placing of troops in harm's way, and of course, not trying to get entangled in any sort of forever war in the region. And I think ultimately the decision that was made for the precision strikes and the B2 bombing of the facilities, of course, was flawlessly executed. And all credit goes to the men and women in uniform that executed, that supported it. But ultimately, you know, I think it was the. Just the resolve of Secretary Hegseth and the president of being willing to make those tough calls and ultimately, you know, back up words with action when necessary.
- [25:54]
Matt Kittle
And of course, they were roundly criticized by their opponents on the left, who, of course, see Donald Trump as more of a threat to democracy than, you know, the, the despotic regime in Iran. Here we are. And that's the state of American politics today. One of the narratives surrounding that event, the bombings at the time was, well, yeah, they may have gotten in there, they may have dropped those bombs, but Iran still has the potential to, to move forward on their nuclear weaponry. Now, and I remember this is the same group that told you that Iran was not and would not, thanks to the agreement the Obama and Biden administration signed with the help of pallets of cash, that they weren't moving toward nuclear weaponry. It was all for peaceful use. But you were there. Can you give us a sense of what went down in terms of the destruction? And it's clear now that the original narrative from the left wasn't correct. But how much damage did this military exert?
- [27:19]
Justin Fulcher
Oh, it was an incredibly successful series of strikes that caused enormous damage. And I think what was so fascinating to witness on the inside was we, of course, had very inside information of exactly the situation, the best we could with all the different tools of American power. But within literally minutes of the strikes being announced, you had mainstream media interests already calling out and saying the strikes were unsuccessful. We're basically trying to prop up this counter narrative that it was a complete failure. And so for us, it was just so fascinating to see the juxtaposition between what we witnessed firsthand being incredibly successful strikes and complete destruction of the ability for Iran to pursue these nuclear capabilities in those facilities. But then minutes and hours after the strikes were announced, the media saying there were complete failures or in many ways unsuccessful. So that was shocking to witness firsthand, but ultimately unsurprising. Like you mentioned before, President Trump could have cured cancer and they'd still find a way to vilify them.
- [28:35]
Matt Kittle
Yeah, I wish the American voter, the American consumer of information, quite frankly, didn't have the attention span of a gnat because that's really, I mean, you know, every time you see the corporate media take this path, and we've seen it over and over again, the Russia collusion hoax, you know, the Arctic Fox, all of this sort of stuff, you know, it's just been one lie after another. And the, the corporate media have just continued to serve as the water carriers of, of the left in a, you know, a campaign to degrade the administration of, of Donald Trump. And so I, I just, you know, that was a huge issue where the American public was like, okay, yeah, yeah, we are getting the wrong story, the incorrect, the false, the lying story from corporate media. It's just one of the myriad examples. But they don't remember that when, for instance, we're taking a look at the ICE issue in Minneapolis or, you know, myriad other issues that come up. I want to, I want to jump forward now several months. Where do you think we are heading with the Iran question, given the massive protests from pro democracy forces inside Iran? Will, will there be US Military engagement there, in your estimation?
- [30:10]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think, you know, the most important thing to understand about Iran right now is that this is a deliberate test of deterrence. You know, President Trump has been extremely clear about the outcome he wants, which is no nuclear weapons and an end to the regime killing its own people. And while he's not broadcasting timelines or doing any sort of negotiating through the press, he has delivered that message very clearly to Tehran. And the Iranian regime knows the terms and what's at stake. And I think they'd be wise to heed his words considering the successful operation Midnight Hammer Hammer months back. But ultimately, I think despite naval posturing and developments and deployments in the region, I think that force may or may not be necessary here because the Iranian regime knows that when President Trump speaks, he means what he says and he's prepared to back it up with force if the situation requires it.
- [31:16]
Matt Kittle
Indeed, speaking of that, were you at all surprised by the Marxist left in US Politics seemingly coming to the aid the defense of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela with that amazing operation that went down? I mean, we will be talking about this for many, many years to come, but it was a, it was incredible not only to see how that happened. Maduro in handcuffs in the, in U.S. custody, but then the immediate response from the Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's of the world, the real Marxist about Nicolas Maduro's due process rights and all of these sorts of things.
- [32:09]
Justin Fulcher
I, I can't Say, I'm surprised. I mean, despite the fact that, you know, we witnessed, you know, arguably one of the most effective and impressive, you know, joint operations in modern history, by every.
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Matt Kittle
By every standard, it seems to me, with the people I've talked to and, you know, and, and reading the accounts, this was precision at its finest.
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Justin Fulcher
Oh, absolutely. And, I mean, you know, just what's been released to the public, I think there's no other response than to be impressed with, you know, our military's capabilities. And, you know, it's. I think it's frustrating for many folks on the left because of how effective these operations are. And so their natural response is just to look for any sort of way to tear it down. I mean, Maduro was captured alive. I mean, how impressive is that? And when you talk about due process rights, I mean, he's getting his day in court. He is getting due process rights. But at the end of the day, I mean, the US Military under the leadership of Secretary Hegseth and President Trump, I mean, deserve enormous credit for that effective operation in Venezuela.
- [33:18]
Matt Kittle
Yeah, that made The Noriega operation in 89 look like a piker. I mean, it really did. And to wait that cat out, know that that massive drug lord, they had to wait him out, you know, in Panama, and apparently they were playing really bad pop hits that drove him out of his. His little asylum over there. But this was in out, you know, and mission truly accomplished on this front. We'll see what lies ahead. And, and that's the, the question. What do you think comes next? There's a lot of talk about Venezuela, oil opening up, those markets, markets there. You know, it's obviously the reality of the damage that has been done there over the years, the collapse of that country and its wealth, the rebuilding of it. The next administration in there, if you will, for Venezuela. Where does this all go from here, do you think?
- [34:19]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think we're starting to see that play out right now, which is that the oil, Venezuelan oil, finally being able to be sold on the free market, I think will have reverberating effects. I think it has effects even now on Russia joining the peace talks in Abu Dhabi, of now facing even stronger economic pressure. And so ultimately, I think President Trump has made it clear that prosperity in Venezuela is an option if free and fair elections are able to happen. And I think the current interim government there is wise to collaborate and cooperate with the Trump administration to help ensure that that happens and ultimately revitalizing the Venezuelan economy from what it was under Maduro to what it Looks like in the future, I think, will not only benefit an enormous amount of folks in Venezuela. Venezuela, but the entire region and the United States.
- [35:26]
Chris Markowski
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- [35:59]
Matt Kittle
Something tells me, and you never know with human beings and you know, their propensity to repeat history, but something tells me that the people who originally supported, supported, maybe voted for Marxist in that country many years ago will not go that way again. They have learned some very powerful lessons that unfortunately members of the left in this country who are fleeing California and Oregon and Illinois and New York, they haven't learned. In fact, they just end up taking their, their miserable policies and support for those miserable policies with them. You mentioned the Kremlin. What do you think that very successful mission in capturing Nicolas Maduro did for the situation in Ukraine? The, the ongoing, the never ending war between Russia and Ukraine. Did that send a message to Vladimir Putin that this is a country, country that that means what it says?
- [37:15]
Justin Fulcher
Absolutely. I think it's in a very clear and strong message to, to every country around the globe. And I think, you know, as, as countries like Venezuela who, you know, are historically aligned with, with Russia and China, they need to realize that, you know, they, they don't necessarily have any sort of assurance or guarantee just because, you know, Russia or, or China is promising them, you know, defense. A operation in Venezuela showed that frankly, no one is immune from US Military power. And I think it really will cause a change in the calculus and ultimately I think why Putin and the Kremlin have decided that it's best to come to the table in Abu Dhabi and actually have a trilateral discussion. Now, the outcome of that is still to be determined. It's ongoing right now. But I think ultimately them being at the table people is a signal that that calculus has changed.
- [38:14]
Matt Kittle
Tough question for you, but you know, people in the know. Do you think this war ends this year?
- [38:22]
Justin Fulcher
I think that there are a variety of factors that are underway now. You know, Both, you know, economically, but also just the attrition factor of this war that is really weighing on, you know, of course, the Ukrainian people, but, but especially in Russia. And I think these trilateral talks in Abu dh, you know, show that, you know, people are getting, you know, fatigued and beyond fatigue in many ways. And ultimately I think, you know, we, we do see a lot of conditions aligning to where this could get resolved, you know, in the coming months. So there's, there's a lot of factors at play here. And of course, you know, when dealing with, with actors like, like Putin, the enemy does get a vote here, but I think ultimately there's a lot of converging factors that, that suggest that this is getting wrapped up, you know, hopefully, you know, much sooner than later.
- [39:15]
Matt Kittle
So many people have so senselessly died, of course, and that's what we've seen in, in so many wars in, in world history. This isn't any exception to the rule here. Just a few minutes left, but can we talk Greenland?
- [39:31]
Justin Fulcher
Absolutely.
- [39:33]
Matt Kittle
Now, you were at the Department of War when, you know, a lot of this talk was going on. The President brought this up in his first administration. Everybody thought it was a big joke. I had a feeling he was serious from the get go on this. But you know, I think we all think of Greenland as frankly, no tourist destination. I think the population is somewhere around the size of Dubuque, Iowa, and they're controlled by one of the smallest countries in Europe. And so you had all of this craziness going on. But the one thing that cannot be disputed is the strategic benefits that Greenland would bring. What do you think about all of this?
- [40:24]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think you're exactly right. Greenland matters because it sits at this intersection where, you know, geography, security and even, you know, defense industrial based power all, all intersect. I mean geograph geographically it's sitting right between the North Atlantic and the Arctic, which make it absolutely essential for missile warning, space tracking, air and sea routes that connect North America and Europe. But also there's a second layer that's just as important here, which Greenland sits on enormous amounts of critical mineral reserves which could all go into fighter jets, satellites, radar and other military and consumer applications. So, so I think Greenland goes far beyond just the territory and basing rights, but I think it's really about whether the U.S. and its allies can control these modern choke points that make modern power possible.
- [41:23]
Matt Kittle
Looking at the agreement that was signed because everybody was up in arms, that Secretary Hagseth and the President wouldn't take military action off the table, but if they follow this administration, they should know they never take military action off the table, matter what it is. And so that may have been an option well down the line, but it's always an option. But what did you think of the final agreement, if you will, that was hashed out moving forward?
- [41:54]
Justin Fulcher
Well, I think the final agreement definitely aligns the interests of the United States and the America first agenda much better than it was before. And I think ultimately even the investments that the United States will make in Greenland will also benefit, you know, the people of Greenland as well. But, you know, ultimately, you know, when, when folks get, get fired up about the potential use of, you know, military force, I mean, by, by no means is that ever, you know, the first option, but it would be incredibly unwise to take military action off the table for any sort of, you know, strategic interests of the United States. I mean, it's a core element of our, our national power. Doesn't mean, you know, we'll, we'll provoke war or, or strike first or, you know, know, unnecessarily, you know, use military action when it's not required. But of course, it's always an option in the back pocket if necessary.
- [42:48]
Matt Kittle
No, I guess people got used to presidents who like to talk about red lines in the Middle east and, and elsewhere. And then, of course, those red lines meant absolutely nothing. There has been an absolute change. And, and I guess that's what do, do you see in two aspects here. The world waking up to the idea that the United States of America is not to be taken for granted and it is not to be underestimated, and it certainly is not to be disrespected as it has been for so long. And how, how do you think that will play? Since we talked about none of this is in a, a vacuum. How do you think it will play out in this upcoming midterm election season?
- [43:40]
Justin Fulcher
Well, simply put, America is back. And I think, you know, despite, you know, different folks and actors on the world stage maybe being, being shocked that America is, is flexing its power and, and mobilizing, you know, in various parts of the globe, I think it's very clear that, you know, when President Trump speaks that he means business and, you know, where, wherever you are, whether you're in, you know, Moscow or, or in Beijing, that the US Is back and needs to be taken seriously and, and respected again. And ultimately, I think, you know, as it relates to the midterms, I think, you know, the, the American people recognize the respect that, you know, from our US Military to our economy and other aspects of of our country, us being back and being revitalized. I think that will only bode well in the midterms for the Trump administration. Administration.
- [44:33]
Matt Kittle
It is a different day in America. There is no doubt about that. Thanks to my guest today, Justin Fulcher, former senior advisor to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. You've been listening to another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, senior elections correspondent at the Federalist. We'll be back soon with more. Until then, stay lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray.
- [45:00]
Justin Fulcher
Sam.