Hegseth wants us to focus on his recruitment success. OK, will do: He's lying
SecDef and Trump administration claim credit for gains that started under Biden
By Sam Bellamy
Fresh from his last-minute visit to the Vatican to chastise the dying pope for speaking kindly of immigrants, JD Vance paused on a tarmac in India this week to defend Pete Hegseth in his final hours as our nation’s secretary of defense.
In the brief video clip below, you’ll see Vance listen to a reporter’s question and quickly slip into the blame-the-messenger act all too familiar to reporters around the world.
In this ritual, the substance of the message is beside the point. The real problem, we’re to believe, is the we have too many messengers who just … will … not … deliver the good news.
Vance says nothing at all to refute the latest bombshell report from The New York Times about Hegseth texting war plans to his wife and brother, among others, on his personal phone.
Instead, Vance reaches into the deep well of indignation that all politicians have for moments when they’re caught red-handed – and sputters that the media is once again picking on poor Pete, who’s actually doing a great job but reporters just … will … not … deliver the good news.
And what’s this good news? Recruitment numbers are up! The leadership of Pete Hegseth – a soldier’s soldier, a man’s man, a white boy’s white boy – is drawing volunteers to the military in record numbers!
This is – need we say it? – a lie.
While it’s true that the number of recruits is up this year, it’s also true – and, well, pretty important to point out – that the numbers were up last year, too, well before Trump squeaked past Kamala Harris in the popular vote and Pete Hegseth ever darkened a door at the Pentagon.
Hell, even Fox News has acknowledged that.
In a February story, reporter Jennifer Griffin informed Fox viewers and readers, “The uptick in recruiting started months before the election on Nov. 5.”
Fox interviewed departing Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who provided the easily verifiable proof.
“No, it did not all start in December," Wormuth said. “The Army's recruiting started getting better much earlier. We really started seeing the numbers, the monthly numbers, go up in February of 2024. We were seeing sort of in the high 5,000 contracts per month, and that accelerated, you know, into the spring all the way into August, when the Army really hit a peak.”
Fox reported that: “Starting in October 2023, the Army put 1,200 more recruiters in the field. By September 2024, before the election, the Army announced it had exceeded its recruiting goals.”
Yet Trump, Vance and Hegseth repeatedly hail their own prowess in raising recruitment to “record” levels, attributing it to Hegseth’s manly leadership and the obliteration of “woke” initiatives that encourage nasty, nasty stuff like diversity, equity and inclusion in the ranks.
Recruitment is indeed looking strong again this year, Steve Beynon of military.com reported this week. The Army is on track to easily meet its goals this fiscal year.
Much of the success, Beynon notes, is due to the Biden-era Future Soldiers Preparatory Courses, “which help applicants meet body fat and academic standards and have proven to be a recruitment lifeline. Once recruits are in compliance with the Army's standards, they move on to basic training. Last year, one-quarter of Army applicants, who otherwise would not have been allowed to enlist, attended at least one of those prep courses.”
At the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House on Monday, where Hegseth berated the media, Trump took full credit for the improved recruitment. "Since Nov. 5, it's all happened," he said, lying. "Enrollment in the military is at a record. That's testament to what's happening in terms of the spirit of our country."
But, as Beynon notes, “Historically, economic downturns – rather than electoral shifts – have been the more reliable driver of recruiting booms, as young Americans turn to the military in search of job security and educational benefits.”
The Trump administration could take credit, of course, for the current tariff-induced economic downturn. But, as much as it might please Vance, don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.