Humiliating poll reveals how few Americans think Pete Hegseth is strong role model
Hegseth has complained about women in combat roles, pushed for testosterone deficiency screenings and called for ‘no wimps’ in the military
A humiliating poll has revealed how few Americans see Pete Hegseth as a strong role model as the Pentagon bro-in-chief tries to make the Defense Department the epitome of masculinity.
Just 28 percent of Americans viewed Hegseth as a strong role model for men, while 39 percent didn’t, according to a new poll conducted by YouGov for the anti-Trump news outlet The Bulwark and the sports and culture show Pablo Torre Finds Out.
Hegseth fares even worse among the younger generations. Just 18 percent of those between 18 and 29 years old viewed Hegseth as a strong role model, compared to 34 percent who didn’t. Even before Hegseth was confirmed as the secretary for the Defense Department, concerns were raised about how he viewed women in military roles.
Hegseth — an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming a Fox News weekend host and then the head of the Pentagon — said on Shawn Ryan’s podcast in November 2024, “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.”
In July, Hegseth directed male service members 30 years and older to get annual screenings for testosterone deficiency. Those with testosterone deficiency will be offered replacement therapy or other hormone treatments, according to the Pentagon.
"This initiative...is not about artificial enhancement; it's about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight," Hegseth said in a news release last month.
During an address dubbed the “State of the Force,” in late September, Hegseth celebrated rooting out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the Pentagon.
“We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that: No fatties. No trannies. No beardos. No weirdos. No wimps. No radicals. Just warriors,” Hegseth told service members at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.
Hegseth was the second-worst role model among the nine men from politics, sports and Hollywood that the new poll asked about.
Who finished dead last? His boss — President Donald Trump.
A whopping 55 percent of Americans said Trump wasn’t a strong male role model, compared to 37 percent who said he was.
One of Trump’s Democratic rivals, former President Barack Obama, was viewed as one of the strongest male role models in the poll.
A staggering 59 percent of Americans said Obama was a strong male role model while 31 percent said he wasn’t.