Elizabeth Warren Teaches Men Crucial Lesson: Running Your Mouth on a Podcast Will Come Back to Bite You!
During Day 1 of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearings, Warren confronted the Trump nominee over his "straight up” opposition to women in combat roles. “I'm quoting you from the podcast,” she said.
Much as you or I may wish it weren’t so, the Senate is beginning confirmation hearings for the circus of alleged abusers and otherwise wildly unqualified randos Donald Trump has nominated to key positions in his administration. And first up is Pete Hegseth, the alleged rapist and former Fox News host Trump tapped to run the $850 billion defense department. As journalist Rebecca Traister pointed out, Hegseth’s confirmation is a major test of just how much insufferable bullshit the incoming, far-right president will be able to push through Congress (paraphrasing!).
In what felt like a major throwback to 2017, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) predictably came out swinging against Hegseth, wielding the characteristic viciousness she reserves for banking executives. Warren specifically confronted Hegseth on his past comments that women should be barred from combat roles in the military. While he’s been saying this for years, he repeated it as recently as November 7. “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” Hegseth said on the Shawn Ryan Show. “It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.” Weeks later, Hegseth joined Megyn Kelly’s podcast and sang a slightly different tune, maintaining that so long as women can meet the standards required to be in combat roles, “let’s go.”
When Hegseth tried to suggest he’s never advocated against women in combat roles, but instead advocated for women to meet “standards,” Warren read his own quote on the Shawn Ryan Show back to him. “I’m quoting you from the podcast,” she said, asking him, “Where is the reference to standards? That they should be there if they can carry, or run?” This quote came just “32 days ago,” she pointed out, and only days before Trump tapped Hegseth as defense secretary. Why shouldn’t women in the military believe that “32 days after being confirmed, you’ll go back to those views?” Warren asked.
Hegseth: This issue has always been about standards
Warren: I’m quoting you from the podcast. Women shouldn’t be in combat at all. Where is the reference to standards. I don’t see that at all. pic.twitter.com/jjejsD6zIc
I argue there is a moral to this story for men everywhere—beyond not being a misogynist and a very stupid misogynist, at that. The easiest way to avoid getting fried by someone who says to you, “I’m quoting you from the podcast,” is to simply not speak on a podcast! And, uh, maybe avoid writing manifestos about fixing the U.S. military that include such bangers as this line from his book, The War on Warriors: “Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units.”
It’s only day one and the hearings have already devolved into a circus. Even beforehand, Senate Republicans showed just how determined they are to look the other way from Hegseth’s major liabilities: The New Yorker reported that several GOP senators, including supposed sexual assault victim advocates Joni Ernst and Susan Collins, declined to privately meet the woman accusing Hegseth of rape.
As for the hearing itself… Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), famous for his acute intellect, opened for Republicans by declaring that “we’re spending more money on transgender restrooms than we are covering for $100 million airplanes” and that DEI trainings are scaring soldiers away from combat; his source, I presume, is that this all came to him in a dream. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said Hegseth ought to be forgiven for his extensive, past transgressions—such as running veteran advocacy organizations into the ground with his alleged alcoholism and extensive infidelity—because Mullin, too, would “be in prison” if it weren’t for his wife. Weird flex, but OK!
Democrats, meanwhile, had quite a few zingers locked and loaded, though it’s a small consolation given that Hegseth seems likely to be confirmed. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia came prepared (and nasty!), recounting Hegseth’s sordid history of extramarital affairs (“I assume that in each of your weddings, you’ve pledged to be faithful to your wife. You’ve taken an oath to do that, haven’t you?”), grilling Hegseth about NDAs he’s made people like his rape accuser sign, and, when Hegseth tried to write off all the misconduct allegations against him for being “anonymous,” Kaine had something for that, too: “They’re not anonymous… We have seen records with names attached to all of these including your own mother.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a veteran herself, put on a show of humiliating Hegseth over his total lack of knowledge of geopolitics and military operations. For example, Duckworth asked Hegseth to name three countries in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which I couldn’t do, but alas I’m not in the running to lead the U.S. military. Hegseth named three countries, none of which are in ASEAN. “I suggest you do a little homework,” Duckworth said.
