Arrogant ignorance seems to be the calling card of Donald Trump’s second term.
The president’s puerile comedy routine during last week’s joint address to Congress, in which Republicans laughed as he rattled off a list of federal funding projects he seemed to know little-to-nothing about — and thus, couldn’t justify financing — helped highlight this.
As he rattled off this list — including aid for the African country of Lesotho, which he claimed “nobody has ever heard of” — Trump laid bare the ethos of his administration: “Yeah, we ignorant. But who cares?” Thus far, it’s been a fairly effective strategy to have his followers wear his warts as their own.
Few officials in Trump’s administration appear to have internalized that quite like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the anti-diversity crusader who garnered backlash over the weekend for doubling down on the Trump administration’s ignorance on climate change. Responding to a CNN report about U.S. officials and experts who are concerned about the Pentagon shutting down climate-conscious programs, Hegseth agreed with a Pentagon spokesperson telling the outlet that “climate zealotry and other woke chimeras of the Left” aren’t part of the department’s mission.
“John is, of course, correct,” Hegseth tweeted, referring to Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot’s comment to CNN. “The @DeptofDefense does not do climate change crap. We do training and warfighting.”
John is, of course, correct.
The @DeptofDefense does not do climate change crap.
We do training and warfighting. https://t.co/eK5Xyf7fN4








