{"id":25879,"date":"2025-10-01T17:32:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T00:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=25879"},"modified":"2025-10-09T16:27:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T23:27:52","slug":"reactions-to-the-hegseth-and-trump-speeches-to-the-military-and-christian-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2025\/10\/01\/reactions-to-the-hegseth-and-trump-speeches-to-the-military-and-christian-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Reactions to the Hegseth and Trump Speeches to the Military. And Christian Music."},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Reactions to the Hegseth and Trump speeches from Tom Nichols, David Ignatius, Paul Krugman, Heather Cox Richardson, and others;<\/li>\n<li>More examples of how the right, not the left, is promoting political violence;<\/li>\n<li>And Amanda Marcotte about how Christian music signals the limitations of Christian influence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div align=\"center\">&#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/div>\n<p>Again, not to dwell, but at least to note. These are comments, not summaries.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theatlantic.com\/thumbor\/NZb38XQqnlAl4SEq2LqIezQ0XlI=\/0x0:7132x4012\/976x549\/media\/img\/mt\/2025\/09\/2025_09_30_The_Daily_Trump_Hegseth_Quantico\/original.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Atlantic, Tom Nichols, 30 Sept 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/newsletters\/archive\/2025\/09\/trump-hegseth-speech-incoherent\/684421\/\">The Commander in Chief Is Not Okay<\/a> subtitled &#8220;Trump put on a disturbing show for America\u2019s generals and admirals.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This farrago of fantasy, menace, and autocratic peacocking is the kind of thing that the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan evocatively called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1994\/01\/08\/us\/moynihan-says-president-is-insincere-about-reforming-the-welfare-system.html\" data-event-element=\"inline link\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen31117857_899=\"134935\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time31117857_899=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired31117857_899=\"1\">\u201cboob bait for the Bubbas\u201d<\/a> and that George Orwell might have called \u201cprolefeed.\u201d <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s one thing to serve it up to an adoring MAGA crowd: They know that most of it is nonsense and only some of it is real. They find it entertaining, and they can take or leave as much of Trump\u2019s rhetorical junk-food buffet as they would like. It is another thing entirely to aim this kind of sludge at military officers, who are trained and acculturated to treat every word from the president with respect, and to regard his thoughts as policy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-apps\/imrs.php?src=https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/33A7RDA5TBZS3PLACNHIQZTWIM.JPG&amp;w=1440&amp;impolicy=high_res\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Washington Post, David Ignatius, 30 Sept 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2025\/09\/30\/trump-hegseth-speeches-generals-backward\/\">Trump and Hegseth\u2019s backward-facing message to the generals<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;A preoccupation with &#8216;woke&#8217; culture and \u201cenemies\u201d won\u2019t prepare the military for the high-tech demands of 21st-century war.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Here\u2019s the scariest part <a class=\"js-itid-click\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2025\/09\/30\/hegseth-military-meeting-trump-generals\/\">about Tuesday\u2019s military pep rally<\/a>: President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth \u2014 in their focus on grooming, fitness standards and \u201cthe enemy within\u201d \u2014 seem oblivious to the reality that 21st-century combat will be dominated by drones and artificial intelligence, plus commanders who understand these high-tech weapons.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth is so intent on creating a tough military that having a smart one appears secondary. He wants to restore the old-time, gung ho imagery. Basic training that\u2019s \u201cscary, tough and disciplined.\u201d Drill sergeants who can \u201cinstill healthy fear\u201d and \u201cput their hands on recruits.\u201d Hegseth seems convinced that how soldiers fight depends on how they look. \u201cThe era of unprofessional appearance is over,\u201d he said. \u201cNo more beardos.\u201d Maybe he doesn\u2019t remember the unshaven \u201cdogfaces\u201d of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/americanexperience\/features\/warletters-cartoons\/\">Bill Mauldin\u2019s cartoons<\/a> during World War II.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Idealizing an obsolete past, as conservatives are wont to do.<\/p>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p>Similarly from Paul Krugman.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!4Hpq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7b5d004-f7f0-48bf-a8d7-4e56e0f1f7ed_1280x720.jpeg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Krugman, 1 Oct 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/paulkrugman.substack.com\/p\/bulging-biceps-dont-win-modern-wars\">Bulging Biceps Don\u2019t Win Modern Wars<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Hegseth\u2019s speech was vile. It was also stupid.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Why did Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary \u2014 he may call himself secretary of war, but Congress has not, in fact, voted to change his department\u2019s name \u2014 summon 800 top generals and admirals to Washington? I admit that I feared the worst \u2014 that he would demand that they pledge personal fealty to Donald Trump. But no: They were summoned to listen to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rOXbRu43ok8\" rel=\"\">speech<\/a> about \u201clethality,\u201d followed by a highly political speech by Trump himself.<\/p>\n<p>How do you achieve lethality, according to Hegseth? By telling the military that it\u2019s OK to engage in hazing, sexual abuse and bigotry \u2014 he didn\u2019t say that explicitly, but that was his clear message. Also, war crimes are no big deal. And members of the military, including the top brass, must shave their beards, lose weight and do pullups.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth\u2019s speech was morally vile. It was also, however, profoundly stupid. Hegseth seems to have gotten his ideas about what an effective military looks like by watching the movie <em>300<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p>Others:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Guardian:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/oct\/01\/pete-hegseth-generals-speech-veterans-react\">Veterans react to Hegseth\u2019s \u2018insulting\u2019 address to generals and admirals<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Defense secretary\u2019s speech touching on physical fitness and doctrine of lethality was seen as \u2018egotistical\u2019 and \u2018dangerous\u2019&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>New Republic, 2 Oct 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/201175\/donald-trump-pete-hegseth-military-leaders-speeches\">Here\u2019s How Many Military Leaders Liked Trump and Hegseth\u2019s Speeches<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Spoiler alert: zero&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Heather Cox Richardson<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/heathercoxrichardson.substack.com\/p\/september-30-2025\">September 30 2025<\/a>. Long description of the two speeches. Including this passage from Trump, which I&#8217;ve seen quoted elsewhere&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThey looked at him falling downstairs every day. Every day, the guy [Biden] is falling downstairs. He said, It\u2019s not our President. We can\u2019t have it. I\u2019m very careful. You know, when I walk downstairs for, like, a month, stairs, like these stairs, I\u2019m very\u2014I walk very slowly. Nobody has to set a record. Just try not to fall, because it doesn\u2019t work out well. A few of our presidents have fallen and it became a part of their legacy. We don\u2019t want that. You walk nice and easy. You\u2019re not having\u2014you don\u2019t have to set any record. Be cool. Be cool when you walk down, but don\u2019t\u2014don\u2019t pop down the stairs. So one thing with Obama, I had zero respect for him as a President, but he would bop down those stairs. I\u2019ve never seen it. Da-da, da-da, da-da, bop, bop, bop. He\u2019d go down the stairs. Wouldn\u2019t hold on. I said, It\u2019s great. I don\u2019t want to do it. I guess I could do it. But eventually, bad things are going to happen, and it only takes once. But he did a lousy job as president. A year ago, we were a dead country. We were dead. This country was going to hell.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>You really admire this guy, Republicans?<\/p>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p>More about which &#8216;side&#8217; is promoting political violence.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/jesse_watters_2203348577.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Salon, Sophia Tesfaye, 1 Oct 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2025\/10\/01\/do-fox-news-hosts-support-political-violence-yes-no-sort-of\/\">Do Fox News hosts support political violence? Yes, no, sort of<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Jesse Watters&#8217; comments about bombing the UN is just the latest example of a trend&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is an apparent and dangerous double standard at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/topic\/fox_news\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fox News<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, cable television\u2019s most-watched network. Inflammatory rhetoric, and even the incitement and praise of violence, is simply laughed off under the auspices of humor and pushed aside by a brief or private apology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere is nothing funny or ironic in calling for the bombing, the gassing, the destruction of this building,\u201d United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/media-telecom\/un-says-fox-news-host-apologized-after-calling-world-body-be-bombed-2025-09-26\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">explained<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to reporters after Fox News host Jesse Watters said the United Nations building in New York should be \u201cbombed\u201d or \u201cgassed\u201d after <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/topic\/donald_trump\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">President Donald Trump<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> experienced technical problems \u2014 a malfunctioning escalator and teleprompter that Watters called sabotage and an \u201cinsurrection\u201d \u2014 during <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2025\/09\/27\/an-ugly-american-berates-the-united-nations-and-shames-the-rest-of-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">his General Assembly address<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> last week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat we need to do is either leave the UN or we need to bomb it,\u201d Watters <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/media-telecom\/un-says-fox-news-host-apologized-after-calling-world-body-be-bombed-2025-09-26\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the Sept. 23 episode of \u201cThe Five.\u201d He continued: \u201cMaybe gas it?\u2026We need to destroy it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barely containing her laughter, co-host Dana Perino, a former White House spokesperson for former President George W. Bush, responded, \u201cLet\u2019s not do that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And oh, by the way, about that escalator, and teleprompter.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>He blamed UN staffers for sabotaging Trump\u2019s appearance and jeopardizing his safety, a sentiment <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PressSec\/status\/1970572584962895888\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">echoed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the White House. \u201cI hope they get to the bottom of it,\u201d the Fox News host said. \u201cAnd I hope they really injure, emotionally, the people that did it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, as the UN <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sg\/en\/content\/sg\/note-correspondents\/2025-09-23\/note-correspondents-un-escalators\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">made clear<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the escalator suddenly stopped after a White House videographer accidentally triggered a safety mechanism. Regarding the teleprompter issues, UN officials stated that the White House was operating it.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\\\<\/p>\n<p>One more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JMG, 1 Oct 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/10\/voldemort-to-troops-in-memphis-you-are-unleashed-its-over-they-have-no-idea-how-ruthless-we-are\/\">Voldemort To Troops In Memphis: \u201cYou Are Unleashed, It\u2019s Over, They Have No Idea How Ruthless We Are\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI see the guns and badges in this room. You are unleashed. Whatever you need to get done, we are gonna get it done. &#8230; The gangbangers that you deal with \u2014 they think they\u2019re ruthless? They have no idea how ruthless we are. They think they\u2019re tough? They have no idea how tough we are. They think they\u2019re hardcore? We are so much more hardcore than they are. And we have the entire weight of the United States government behind us. When President Trump makes a decision, this team behind me executes.\u201d \u2013 Stephen Miller, literally shouting today in Memphis with Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p>And now for something completely different.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Charlie-Kirk-Memorial-2236593372.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Salon, Amanda Marcotte, 1 Oct 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2025\/10\/01\/maga-cant-expand-its-base-and-christian-music-tells-us-why\/\">MAGA can\u2019t expand its base \u2014 and Christian music tells us why<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;The songs from Charlie Kirk&#8217;s memorial exposed a serious problem&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve mentioned before how on drives down the I-5 from the Bay Area to LA (and back), the majority of radio stations (even on FM) are devoted to Christian music. You can tell within 5 or 10 seconds because the lyrics include &#8220;Jesus&#8221; or &#8220;God&#8221; or &#8220;blessings&#8221; in every other line. And the music itself is insufferably bland. Marcotte identifies the core reason.<\/p>\n<p>Passing over some discussion of Trump&#8217;s unpopularity. Getting to the Charlie Kirk memorial.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The musicians who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLMq7NhsWf36wl1Z9W_6zTzy9aoxlB2vVN\">performed at Kirk\u2019s memorial<\/a> hailed exclusively from the niche worlds of contemporary Christian music (CCM) and worship music. CCM, while lucrative for musicians, is mostly the domain of artists who don\u2019t have enough juice to cross over into the more desirable secular market. Traditionally, those artists who do manage to transition \u2014 think Creed or Evanescence \u2014 drop the \u201cChristian\u201d moniker and will even insist that they never intended to be categorized as such. Worship music, a genre that was popularized in the late 1990s and early 2000s by groups like Hillsong \u2014 a band affiliated with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2023\/may\/18\/hillsong-church-documentary-carl-lentz-scandal\">controversial church<\/a> in Sydney, Australia \u2014 and singer-songwriters like Chris Tomlin, who performed at the memorial, bills itself as producing modern hymns built around simple choruses.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Look, we\u2019re all very worried here about rising fascism. But it\u2019s time to take a deep breath and remember this: If Christian music appealed to anyone outside the white evangelical world, we\u2019d have seen evidence of it by now. CCM has been around for decades, and yet it remains what it always was \u2014 watered down versions of sounds that were popular on the radio years ago.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Exactly. You can&#8217;t listen to this music without being struck by how &#8230; simple-minded it is. Centuries ago, religion inspired great art and great music. In music, I would cite Bach offhand, and Bruckner. No doubt others. But this musical example, as much as any other, shows how the influence of religion has diminished in high culture, if not popular culture. Religion hasn&#8217;t inspired great art for centuries.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Popular music may not be satanic, but MAGA is right to see it as mostly liberal. That\u2019s why they fear it. Far from avoiding transcendent artistic experiences, the left can lay claim to most of them. Most everything from Taylor Swift to the grittiest punk music is made by people on the left. That\u2019s why evangelicals want their kids to avoid it. They rightly believe that it\u2019s hard to go back to mediocrity after you\u2019ve tasted excellence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reactions to the Hegseth and Trump speeches from Tom Nichols, David Ignatius, Paul Krugman, Heather Cox Richardson, and others; More examples of how the right, not the left, is promoting political violence; And Amanda Marcotte about how Christian music signals &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2025\/10\/01\/reactions-to-the-hegseth-and-trump-speeches-to-the-military-and-christian-music\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,18,17,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservatives","category-lunacy","category-music","category-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25879"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25948,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25879\/revisions\/25948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}