Wooing Trump and needling Vance, Hegseth eyes 2028

Defending himself against Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) impeachment effort on Tuesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth cast himself as a devoted servant of President Donald Trump. In a press conference at the Pentagon, his first since May, Hegseth also underlined his interest in running for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.Massie’s impeachment drive is plainly a political effort. Long a Trump opponent, Massie lost his primary battle earlier this year and will leave Congress on Jan. 3. He wants to take a Trump administration scalp with him. But it is highly unlikely that his impeachment effort will succeed. While the House of Representatives may vote to impeach, conviction would require a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate. That is unlikely even under the incoming Democratic Senate. What Massie can do, however, is put pressure on Trump to fire Hegseth.The Iran war has been politically disastrous for Republicans and the White House. Hegseth is also unpopular with many Congressional Republicans for firing what they regard as fine military officers. Seeking to push through a major boost to defense spending and potentially secure new funding for future combat operations against Iran, Congress may demand Trump sacrifice Hegseth as a price tag. This certainly becomes more likely once the new Congress takes office. Hegseth knows all this.Hence why his press conference lavished praise upon Trump. Hegseth presented his own impeachment situation as an extension of what he described as the two unjust impeachment drives against Trump. Hegseth thus sought to cultivate Trump’s perception of his situation not simply as an attack on a loyal Cabinet officer, but as an indirect attack on Trump himself. For a president who values one-way personal loyalty above all else, it was a powerful message. And today, at least, it worked. Following the press conference, Trump declared that Hegseth “gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!”Yet, Hegseth’s strategy wasn’t just about defending himself in the moment. A fervent supporter of the Iran war, Hegseth was asked about Vice President JD Vance’s scathing critique of that war’s role in the Republican midterm elections defeat. Hegseth’s response was notable. Stating that he respected Vance, Hegseth added that he didn’t want to get into a debate. “Thankfully,” he said, “politics is not really my thing.” Again, remember that Hegseth knew Trump was watching. Hegseth is characterizing Vance as a self-interested politician playing for favor, while presenting himself as a loyal presidential servant.But while this strategy might appeal to Trump, it doesn’t conform to reality. Hegseth is the most political holder of his office in memory. Embracing hyperbolic rhetoric and partisan performance art, Hegseth wants to appeal to Republican primary voters as Trump’s machismo maestro heir apparent. One example of this on Tuesday was Hegseth’s claim that Trump “did not kick the can [down the road on Iran]. He kicked their teeth in.”BLESSING ATROCITIES IN UKRAINE, PATRIARCH KIRILL DESECRATES RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCHHegseth also plainly engaged in a political narrative when he claimed that the impeachment effort against him “puts a target on the backs of American warriors by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real time. This is not patriotism. This is sabotage.” The message: attack the secretary of War, you attack the troops. Hegseth has even hired active-duty military officers into legally questionable roles as political hatchet men.Still, the complexion of the current and incoming Congress means that Trump is the ultimate decider-in-chief when it comes to Hegseth’s fate. And on this display, Hegseth has likely earned Trump’s continued confidence. But whatever its impact on the midterm elections, like Vance, Hegseth has also now shown that the Iran war has unleashed the 2028 presidential primary dogs of war.