OPINION:
Other than President Trump, the man most hated by Democrats in America is probably Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Since he took over the Pentagon in January 2025, Mr. Hegseth has done everything a person could do to tick off the leftist-dominated party and its media enablers.
He quickly put an end to diversity, equity and inclusion mandates, banned transgender people from the armed forces and created a robust military culture emphasizing duty, toughness and excellence.
The biggest black marks in Democrats’ minds are Mr. Hegseth’s unabashed evangelical faith, initiating Bible studies at the Pentagon and encouraging prayer.
Then there is the U.S. armed forces’ spectacular success at destroying most of Iran’s military, including its entire navy, and crippling its nuclear program. Can’t have that, according to Democrats, who appear to be rooting for Iran to defeat the U.S.
Instead of eliminating a growing nuclear threat, they apparently think it’s smarter to keep shipping billions of dollars in cash to the terrorist regime like Presidents Obama and Biden did.
On Wednesday, House Democrats tried and failed again to pass a war powers resolution to stop Mr. Trump from further military action in Iran without congressional approval. Right now, like a punch-drunk boxer, Iran’s “Death to America” regime may well be on the ropes, with Democrats in their corner offering smelling salts and cold water.
The Trump administration’s effort to defang Iran began in June, when U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.
In December, Rep. Shri Thanedar, Michigan Democrat, introduced an impeachment resolution against Mr. Hegseth that accused him of “murder and conspiracy to murder” and “reckless and unlawful mishandling of classified information.”
It died in the House Judiciary Committee.
Ms. Thanedar represents Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, which is next door to Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s 12th District and the Muslim-majority city of Dearborn, which harbors several imams who have called for the global intifada, which means killing Jews anywhere they are found.
Hasan Piker, a “cultural Muslim” blogger with millions of followers, has become a go-to media figure for Democrats, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mr. Piker says America deserved the 9/11 terrorist attacks, that the fall of the Soviet Union was “the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century” and that he prefers Hamas and Hezbollah over Israel.
He campaigned at Michigan State University on April 7 for Abdul El-Sayed, a leftist running for the U.S. Senate, and has had Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, on his program. The Turkish-born socialist obviously hates America, hates Israel and is loved by Democrats.
Speaking of Democrats, since their first attempt at impeaching Mr. Hegseth went nowhere, they are back at it.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Arizona Democrat, introduced a resolution Wednesday with several articles of impeachment, including abuse of power over the U.S. military campaign in Iran, war crimes, politicization of the armed forces, obstruction of justice and mismanagement of the Defense Department.
Meanwhile, media never miss an opportunity to portray Mr. Hegseth in a bad light.
A front-page story in The Washington Post on March 30 made Mr. Hegseth comparable to the villainous dictators of Gilead, the fictional totalitarian regime in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The runover page had a large photo of Mr. Hegseth with creased eyebrows and a frown worthy of a kooky despot, along with this headline: “Hegseth’s wartime proselytizing breaks with military history.”
The caption read: “Every month at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosts evangelical services that legal experts say are unprecedented.”
Those same “experts” undoubtedly hate Arnold Friberg’s 1975 painting, “The Prayer at Valley Forge,” showing Gen. George Washington kneeling in the snow beside his horse to pray.
America’s first president often said faith was vital for his troops’ success. On July 20, 1775, Washington ordered “all officers and soldiers to attend Divine services.” He issued a statement on July 2, 1776, that could easily apply to today’s war against Islamist terrorism: “The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.”
Another Post photo shows soldiers at a Bible study at Fort Hood, Texas. It’s supposed to scare us.
Most people would find the events of Nov. 5, 2009, much more frightening. That was when U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a military psychiatrist, opened fire on his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood after yelling, “Allahu akbar!” He killed 12, including a pregnant woman, and wounded 33.
The Obama administration first characterized the attack only as “workplace violence.”
To a growing number of Democrats, evangelical Bible studies in the armed forces are the real threat. So is America’s support for Israel.
At its spring gathering in New Orleans from April 9 to 11, the Democratic National Committee was racked with debate over Israel and the role of pro-Israel funders such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to The Epoch Times.
A Pew Research Center survey published April 7 found that 80% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents hold an unfavorable view of Israel.
Christians and Jews would do well to figure out who is on their side and to vote accordingly.
• Robert Knight is a columnist for The Washington Times. His website is roberthknight.com.
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