“OUR MILITARY WILL BE GREAT AGAIN”
Trump also said on Tuesday he has picked as his secretary of defence Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for the so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders including its top military officer.
Hegseth, if confirmed by the US Senate, could make good on Trump’s campaign promises to rid the US military of generals whom he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.
Trump, announcing his decision, praised Hegseth, who is an Army National Guard veteran and according to his website served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”
Hegseth has said he left the military in 2021 after being deemed an extremist by an army that didn’t want him anymore.
“The feeling was mutual – I didn’t want this army anymore either,” Hegseth said in his book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”
The 78-year-old, who decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in last week’s election, makes a triumphant return to Washington on Wednesday, meeting Biden in the Oval Office.
He is also expected to visit the US Capitol where his party has won a narrow majority in the Senate and is poised to retain control of the House of Representatives, giving Republicans the so-called trifecta of both chambers and the White House from January.
With just over two months until he takes office, Trump is moving quickly to consolidate an extraordinary comeback.
He got good news when a judge in New York delayed a decision until Nov 19 on potentially throwing out his conviction on multiple fraud charges ahead of scheduled sentencing.
Governments worldwide are scrutinising Trump’s government picks for signs of how closely the incoming administration will stick to his promises of an isolationist foreign policy, harsh crackdowns on illegal immigration, and persecution of people he perceives as enemies.
