Trump Makes MOST PSYCHOTIC APPOINTMENT ever of FOX host

Summary

Summary of "Trump Makes MOST PSYCHOTIC APPOINTMENT ever of FOX host" Episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast

Podcast Information:

• Title: The MeidasTouch Podcast
• Host/Author: MeidasTouch Network
• Episode: Trump Makes MOST PSYCHOTIC APPOINTMENT ever of FOX host
• Release Date: November 14, 2024

In this episode, the Meiselas brothers delve into the controversial appointment of Fox News host Pete Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense by former President Donald Trump. The discussion is rich with analysis, critical commentary, and insights into the potential ramifications of such an unprecedented political move.

---

1. Trump’s Appointment of Pete Hegseth

The episode opens with Host 1 announcing Donald Trump's nomination of Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host, to serve as the Secretary of Defense. This appointment is described as unprecedented and raises significant concerns about qualifications and implications for national security.

• Host 1 [00:00]: "Donald Trump just announced that he is making Fox News host Pete Hegseth the next Pentagon chief."

A clip from Laura Ingraham is played, highlighting Trump’s endorsement of Hegseth’s qualifications:

• Laura Ingraham [00:30]: "Pete has spent his entire life as a warrior for the troops and for the country. He's tough, smart, and a true believer in America first."

---

2. Background and Controversial Statements of Pete Hegseth

The hosts examine Hegseth's background, emphasizing his lack of traditional defense experience and highlighting his controversial opinions expressed during his tenure at Fox News.

A. Education and Military Claims

• Host 1 [01:05]: Introduces a clip from Hegseth’s segment "Is College Worth It?" showcasing his skepticism towards elite education.

  • Pete Hegseth [01:17]: "The more elite the university and advanced that a graduate is, the dumber they are... I sent one of my degrees back."

B. Health Misconceptions

A segment from 2019 is discussed, where Hegseth makes dubious claims about hygiene and germs:

• Pete Hegseth [01:49]: "I don't think I've washed my hands for 10 years... Germs are not a real thing."

The hosts critique these statements, questioning his credibility and suitability for a defense role.

---

3. Official Announcement and Senate Confirmation Doubts

Host 1 [02:07]: Reads Trump’s official statement nominating Hegseth, detailing his military service and accomplishments. Despite the proclamation, skepticism about Senate confirmation is expressed.

• Host 1 [02:07]: "Jake Sherman says this is going to be a hard confirmation to get through. I'm not really sure if that's going to be the case."

The discussion humorously parallels the possibility of other media personalities, like Sean Hannity, being appointed to high-level positions, underscoring the perceived absurdity.

---

4. Implications of the Appointment

The hosts explore the geopolitical and domestic implications of appointing Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, especially in the context of ongoing tensions with Russia and the lack of de-escalation efforts by Putin.

• Host 1 [02:03]: "This is probably Vladimir Putin's dream come true... putting unqualified people in the most important positions."

Concerns are raised about the potential impact on U.S. military policy and international relations, highlighting the precarious timing of the appointment.

---

5. Pete Hegseth’s Views on Veteran Affairs and Education

The episode features clips of Hegseth's previous commentary on veterans' dependence on government benefits and his aggressive stance on education policies.

A. Veterans' Benefits

• Pete Hegseth [06:29]: Criticizes the increasing reliance of veterans on government benefits, advocating for personal responsibility.

  • Pete Hegseth [07:17]: "The ethos of service is I serve my country because I love my country... otherwise, I don't want to be dependent."

B. Education and Critical Race Theory

In a heated exchange, Hegseth debates a Democratic voter on education policies, particularly focusing on the teaching of critical race theory.

• Pete Hegseth [08:18]: "School choice is a civil rights issue."

The discussion highlights Hegseth’s controversial positions on education, which could influence his approach as Secretary of Defense, especially regarding military education and training programs.

---

6. Hegseth’s Stance on International Affairs

A clip from 2020 showcases Hegseth’s lack of nuanced understanding of international relations, particularly regarding Iran and Iraq.

• Pete Hegseth [12:18]: "If we're gonna defend ourselves, it's going to be us as it pertains to Iraq and the future."

The hosts critique his simplistic and confrontational views, arguing that such perspectives are ill-suited for a role that requires strategic diplomacy and complex decision-making.

---

7. Podcast Hosts’ Critical Analysis and Conclusion

Throughout the episode, the Meiselas brothers express deep concern and skepticism about Hegseth’s appointment, questioning his qualifications and the broader implications for U.S. defense policy.

• Host 1 [13:39]: "Donald Trump is now just making a mockery of our entire country and putting unqualified people in the most important positions."

The episode concludes with a call to action, urging listeners to stay informed and engaged with ongoing political developments.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Host 1 [00:00]: "Donald Trump just announced that he is making Fox News host Pete Hegseth the next Pentagon chief."

• Laura Ingraham [00:30]: "Pete has spent his entire life as a warrior for the troops and for the country. He's tough, smart, and a true believer in America first."

• Pete Hegseth [01:17]: "The more elite the university and advanced that a graduate is, the dumber they are... I sent one of my degrees back."

• Pete Hegseth [01:49]: "I don't think I've washed my hands for 10 years... Germs are not a real thing."

• Pete Hegseth [06:29]: "The ethos of service is I serve my country because I love my country... otherwise, I don't want to be dependent."

• Pete Hegseth [08:18]: "School choice is a civil rights issue."

• Host 1 [13:39]: "Donald Trump is now just making a mockery of our entire country and putting unqualified people in the most important positions."

---

Conclusion

This episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast provides a thorough and critical examination of Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Through detailed analysis and the inclusion of Hegseth’s own statements, the Meiselas brothers articulate significant concerns regarding the nominee’s qualifications, viewpoints, and the potential impact on American democracy and global standing. The discussion serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of qualified leadership in critical governmental positions.

Transcript

[Host 1]

This is serious, folks. Donald Trump just announced that he is making Fox News host Pete Hegseth the next Pentagon chief. That's right. Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host, will be the Secretary of Defense. Donald Trump is appointing him to that position. Obviously, it has to be confirmed by the Senate. Here is Laura Ingraham announcing that Donald Trump has made this appointment. Here, play this clip that our own.

[Laura Ingraham]

Pete Hegseth will be his Secretary of Defense. Pete, of course, has been a host here at Fox for a number of years. He's an army veteran where he served in Afghanistan, in Iraq. Trump saying, quote, pete has spent his entire life as a warrior for the troops and for the country. He's tough, smart, and a true believer in America first. With Pete at the helm, America's enemies are on notice. Our military will be great again, and America will never back down. Wow, that is pretty cool. Gosh, we're going to miss him at Fox, but that's a game for the country.

[Host 1]

And just so we know who we're talking about here, this is Pete Hegseth. Previously on Fox. In a segment called Is College Worth It? Here, play this clip.

[Pete Hegseth]

Alma mater. I have a new rule. The more elite the university and advanced that a graduate is, the dumber they are, the less likely I am to trust them. If you went to the Ivy League, prove to me that you have any common sense at all, because I mostly agree. Yes. And I sent one of my degrees back.

[Host 1]

And here, this is from 2019. Donald Trump's secretary of defense nominee, Pete Hegseth, saying that he never washes his hands and can't remember washing them once in the past 10 years. Play the clip.

[Pete Hegseth]

I don't think I've washed my hands for 10 years. Really? I don't. I don't really wash my hands. You want to help me? No.

[Co-Host 1]

I inoculate myself.

[Pete Hegseth]

Germs are not a real thing. I can't see them. Therefore, they're not real.

[Host 1]

So you're becoming immune to all of the.

[Co-Host 2]

All the bacteria.

[Pete Hegseth]

Exactly.

[Co-Host 1]

I can't get sick.

[Host 1]

So here's the official announcement from Donald Trump. Just so you can see it for yourself, right here, statement from Donald Trump. I'm honored to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my cabinet as the Secretary of Defense. Pete has spent his entire life as a warrior for the troops in the country. Pete is tough, smart, and a true believer in America first. With Pete at the helm, America's enemies are on notice. Our military will be great again, and America will never back down. Pete is a graduate of Princeton University and has a graduate degree from Harvard University. He is an army combat veteran who did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. For his actions on the battlefield, he was decorated with two Bronze Stars. So he did serve as well as a Combat Infantryman's badge. Pete has been the host of Fox News for eight years where he used that platform to fight for our military and veterans. Pete's recent book the War on Warriors spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, including two weeks at number one. The book reveals the left wing betrayal of our warriors and how we must return our military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability and excellence. Pete has also led two veterans advocacy organizations leading the fight for our warriors and our great veterans. Nobody fights harder for the troops and Pete will be courageous and patriotic champion of our peace through strength policy. So you see Donald Trump announcing it there as well. Jake Sherman says this is going to be a hard confirmation to get through. I'm not really sure if that's going to be the case. It seems like Donald Trump's MAGA will rubber stamp this. I don't know what's next. Are you going to have Sean Hannity become Attorney general? Are you going to have Jesse Waters become, you know, I don't know, the CIA director? Anyway, this is at a time where Putin has not de escalated. And Putin has also claimed that any news that he's had conversations with Donald Trump, which Trump claims took place, is pure fiction. Trump had leaked to the Washington Post that he had told Putin to de escalate. Putin has done anything but de escalate.

[Advertiser]

I've been trying to lose some weight lately and get a little healthier. And I'll tell you what's been a key for me. It's called Prolon and a lot of our viewers say it's changed their life. So forget everything you know about fasting. I want to tell you about Prolon by El Nutra. It's the only patented fasting mimicking diet that combines the benefits of prolonged fasting with science backed nutrition plans so you can hit your health and weight loss goals without actually having to give up all the food. So introducing Prolon is a revolutionary plant based program. It nourishes the body while making cells believe they're fasting. Research and developed for decades at the University of Southern California Longevity Institute. By the way, I teach at USC Law. It's backed by leading US Medical centers. Prolon helps promote healthy blood sugar, supports cardiovascular health and it reduces abdominal fat. But Prolon isn't a diet. Prolon is a science. Science based on Nobel prize winning discoveries in medicine. And all starts with Prolon's five day program. Snack, soups and beverages. They're all designed to keep your body in a fasting state unlike anything you've ever experienced. I did the five day program. I feel so much better, feel more energy. And the thing is, it's not a diet. It's a science. And it was convenient. They sent me everything I needed all in one box. I followed the directions.

[Host 1]

It was great.

[Advertiser]

No wonder. Thousands of doctors are now recommending Prolon to support healthy blood sugar and cardiovascular health. So right now, Prolon is offering the Midas touch podcast listeners 15% off their five day nutrition program. So go to prolonlife.com Midas M E I D A S that's P R O L O N l I f e.com midus prolonlife.com midus for this special offer. That's prolonlife.com midas check it out.

[Host 1]

Now back to Pete Hegseth who Donald Trump just appointed to be the Secretary of Defense. I can't believe I'm even saying that. Pete Hegseth here in this segment was on Fox and Friends complaining that veterans who use the benefits they've earned are quote, quote, dependent on the government and lack personal integrity. Play this clip.

[Pete Hegseth]

Here's the hospital you use within this radius and you get this doctor as opposed to empowering the individual to say, I've got a knee issue. Dr. Jones down the street could help me with it and the dollars could follow me to get that.

[Co-Host 3]

They're still getting on lists to get, of course, their doctors.

[Pete Hegseth]

Look at this.

[Co-Host 3]

Veterans granted disability compensation. If you compare After World War II, 1.5 million veterans. 2017, 4.5 million veterans.

[Pete Hegseth]

This is a really complicated discussion. This is about disability ratings, which isn't always necessarily tied to health care. But the idea that this, the healthcare you get is about service connected disabilities. If you go to war and you get injured, we'll take care of you. So when you come home, they try to rate how disabled you are and that's how much care you get. Well, I could be rated for 50% right now if I wanted to be.

[Co-Host 1]

I mean, just to have a totally.

[Pete Hegseth]

And vets know this out there. I could do ear and ankle and knee and back proportional because it's proportional for different injuries that you have groups out there, vets groups mostly encourage vets to apply for every government benefit they can ever get. Why not leave the service? Because, well why not? Right? The government's giving it out. To me, the ethos of service is I serve my country because I love my country. And I'm going to come home and start the next chapter of my life. And if I've got a chronic condition, mental, physical, otherwise, the government better be there for me. But otherwise, I don't want to be dependent.

[Co-Host 4]

Integrity, you got to have personal integrity.

[Pete Hegseth]

And right now, a lot of groups are convincing vets to give, get, take more from the system as opposed to just what you, what you need for the service you gave.

[Co-Host 4]

And you compare the budget here. In 2007, the budget was over $72 billion, over 9 million veterans using the VA and now in 2017, $176.9 billion with just barely, just, just under 10 million. So just about a million more using the system. How does that happen?

[Pete Hegseth]

We did a big study.

[Host 1]

Now here's another recent segment of Pete Hegseth questioning a Democratic voter from New Jersey. You could watch this again. This is now who's appointed Secretary of Defense? Play this clip.

[Pete Hegseth]

Janine, as a Democrat leading toward Biden, what is, what would you like to see from, from a president?

[Democratic Voter]

Let's see. I'm going to pick education and I'm going to say that education is a key issue in our society. So I want no books banned. I'm very anti anything being banned. You don't want your kid to read it, that's fine. I want my kid to read a little bit more. So what about, like the 2500 books banned so far?

[Pete Hegseth]

Will trans. The trans.

[Democratic Voter]

I, she can, I have one daughter. She can read whatever she wants to read at an age appropriate to what she needs.

[Pete Hegseth]

So how about, like, Bible? What if we wanted to teach the Bible?

[Democratic Voter]

I'm Catholic. I've already taught her about the Bible because I'm Catholic.

[Host 1]

But no.

[Pete Hegseth]

What about in school?

[Democratic Voter]

Absolutely. Oh, in school. Oh, no, can't have God in school. Separation, separation of church. And then that's not all history should be taught. That is African American history, Native American history, Latino history, you know, Asian history, Caucasian history, all history should be taught in public schools. So I'm going to say I'm very pro education.

[Pete Hegseth]

It's so interesting because education will be a topic cutting in both directions.

[Democratic Voter]

Very pro education.

[Pete Hegseth]

You describe it differently than I think, some of many of our other panelists.

[Democratic Voter]

Which means that Desantis is a thumbs down because he doesn't want to educate people on black history. And so I take that as a personal affront. Seeing a black woman, your anti Blackness is showing.

[Co-Host 1]

That's a false statement.

[Democratic Voter]

And he can you can be anti black and be black so his anti black. You want to keep blacks on the school plantation? Put your slip back in school choice.

[Pete Hegseth]

School choice is a civil rights issue.

[Democratic Voter]

Separation of church and city. It's the underground railroad to give black and brown children an opportunity in this anti black history. You just told me I don't think.

[Pete Hegseth]

Anyone is anti black. No, he saying that before hyperbole on top of whether you want a radical Marxist theory and critical race theory being taught to kids that divide. That doesn't make you anti black history.

[Host 1]

Here's just another clip of Pete Hegseth talking about being at CPAC and saying that people are more concerned with wokeness than Ukraine. Here, play this clip.

[Co-Host 2]

We do know, at least from reports that the president will shift in something in terms of bringing Ukraine into his comments at the State of the Union tomorrow night.

[Pete Hegseth]

Yeah, he will.

[Co-Host 1]

The problem is, and Lisa Eldon's right, I mean, I don't envy the White House speechwriter whose task it is to take the last year and a half and try to make it look rosy. I mean look at that AP headline that correctly depicts the state of America both at home and abroad. If he wants to talk about what's happening in Ukraine, what will he say other than the things we told you would deter it didn't work. If he wants to talk about Afghanistan, he'll say what he said in the past, which is it was going to be this way no matter what, no matter who ended the war, which anyone who had been there or who'd seen it knew that that's not true. It certainly didn't have to end that way. And then here at home, what Lee Selden said is right. And I was at CPAC this weekend talking to conservatives and young people and they said, yes, what's happening in Ukraine is important, but it pales in comparison to the crime I see in my streets, to the wokeness I see in my culture, to the inflation I see at my pocketbook, to the real border I care about, which is the southern border, which is wide open on every single issue. The quality of life of average Americans has gone down. I mean, the taxi driver I spoke to just yesterday said takes me cost me twice as much. He said, I didn't vote for Biden, but it cost me twice as much to fill up my tank. Every time I drive I feel it and I realize I was wrong. So the best thing Joe Biden could do on this grandest of stages with all eyeballs on him is admit some shortfallings, admit we aren't where we should be, and then course correct.

[Host 1]

And here Pete Hegseth showing that he has. This is from 2020, showing that he has no sense of international affairs by saying that on Iran, the US can work with allies that are still there, like the Kurds. Okay, here, play this clip.

[Pete Hegseth]

Certainly what the President will stay focused on is America's interests. That's why one of my favorite things about this was Trump's American flag tweet right afterwards. I mean, it's a reminder that this is an action taken in advance of American interests. We can't rely on Iraqi guards standing outside our embassy. Guess what? We've been training them for 16 years, and they still let the Iranians through to trash our embassy. We can't rely on allies who've never been full partners. As much as we'd like them to be in the war against radical Islamic terrorism. If we're gonna defend ourselves, it's going to be us as it pertains to Iraq and the future. I mean, we killed an Iranian general in Iraq trying to destabilize the country we've spent that much time, blood and treasure, investing in. I say, I mean, listen, if the Iraqi parliament votes to say we don't want the Americans there anymore, as far as I'm concerned, fine, fine, fine. And I say hand them all guns and let them shoot each other. And I know that sounds sort of like barbaric and backwards, but I think there are a lot of people out there in America that say, if you're not satisfied yet, if you won't follow through and defend yourself yet, then at what point do we decide it's not in our interest? We can do some from further away and work with allies that are still there, like the Kurds, but pouring money and pouring weapons and pouring investment into places where people don't want it or they're not capable of keeping it is something this president ran against. So this action should not pull us closer to war, but instead, its weakness invites challenge. This is strength, which I think sends the right signals. We want to run.

[Host 1]

So. That's right. Donald Trump has officially appointed Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host, to be the Secretary of Defense during these very, very critical times. Someone with zero experience doing anything like that, you gotta take this very seriously, folks. This is probably Vladimir Putin's dream come true, as, frankly, Donald Trump is now just making. He always has been, but just making a mockery of our entire country and putting unqualified people in the most important positions. Well, anyway, thanks for watching Hit Subscribe let's get to 4 million subscribers. Love this video.

[Midas Touch Host]

Make sure you stay up to date on the latest breaking news and all things Midas by signing up to the middle Midas Touch newsletter@midas touch.com newsletter.