As Pete Hegseth prepared to become defense secretary, his many critics made a persuasive case that the former Fox News host was, among other things, wildly unprepared to lead the Pentagon. Soon after, he took steps that helped prove his detractors right.
In fact, it was just a few weeks ago when the hapless Pentagon chief declared publicly that it was “unrealistic” to think that after the war in Ukraine ends, Russia wouldn’t keep portions of Ukraine it took by force. He added that Ukrainian membership in NATO simply wouldn’t happen.
The comments were certainly in line with the Kremlin’s wishes — a familiar problem with this administration — but they were also immediately recognized as a dramatic misstep: Before negotiations on a possible peace plan even began, Hegseth was already giving Moscow what it wanted.
The mistake did not go unnoticed. Not only were U.S. allies taken aback, but Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, chided the defense secretary for making a “rookie mistake.”
Hegseth quickly tried to walk back his comments, though three weeks later, it appears his “rookie mistake” has become the White House’s official policy. Politico summarized White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz’s appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” program.
National security adviser Mike Waltz on the ultimate cease-fire deal, on “State of the Union”: “This will clearly be some type of territorial concession for security guarantees going forward. … This needs to be a permanent end, not a temporary end. This needs to be European-led security guarantees going forward. Part of that is Europe’s contribution to its own defense. … And then, you know, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves — what type of support we provide or not is to be negotiated. But one thing is clear: We do not see Ukraine being a member of NATO.”
Let’s recap. In February, Hegseth said that Russia will be able to keep parts of Ukraine that it took by force, and now in March, the White House national security adviser said Ukraine will, as far as the Trump administration is concerned, have to make “some type of territorial concession” to Russia.
In February, Hegseth said that Ukrainian membership in NATO was effectively off the table, and now in March, the White House national security adviser said effectively the same thing. In fact, Waltz managed to go further than Hegseth, telling a national television audience the administration isn’t sure whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy should remain as Ukraine’s leader. “We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians, and end this war,” Waltz said. “And if it becomes apparent that President Zelenskyy’s either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands.” In other words, the diplomatic work has hardly even begun, but as far as the White House is concerned, Ukraine should be prepared to reward Russia with territory, give up on NATO membership, and even prepare to choose a new president more in line with Donald Trump’s wishes. It’s one thing for an amateur Cabinet secretary to make a “rookie mistake.” It’s something else for an administration to embrace the error as U.S. foreign policy.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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