Michael Knowles maintains that Pete Hegseth is qualified to lead the Pentagon and dismisses criticisms regarding his tattoos as unfounded accusations of extremism.

“These are very traditional, very mainstream Christian symbols that not only are not extreme in any way, but which even the people who want to accuse him of extremism couldn't possibly name.”

Dave Rubin believes Pete Hegseth is qualified for the position and will successfully reform the military by prioritizing meritocracy over DEI initiatives.

“I think he's going to reform the military very quickly, and I think we're going to get back to having a functioning military that people can be proud of rather than counting, you know, how many lesbian generals that wear dog collars we have.”

Wajahat Ali asserts that Pete Hegseth is unqualified for the position and that his nomination puts national security at risk.

“You're making this country less safe just because you're bending the knee to Donald Trump and he wants a lapdog who, by the way, I'll agree with Dave on this, who's good on TV.”

Julie Roginsky argues that Pete Hegseth is unfit for the role due to his past controversial statements regarding women in the military and allegations of sexual misconduct.

“You cannot possibly have somebody running our military who has said that women who are unconscious deserve to be raped because it's not really rape. You can just go have your way with them.”