MSNBC’s Maddow Laughs Out Loud At Trump Chief’s ‘Astonishing’ Defense Of Hegseth’s Inexperience
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow laughed out loud at Trump Chief of Staff Susie Wiles over her defense of Pete Hegseth — President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for defense secretary — and his lack of managerial experience.
Hegseth’s nomination has been endangered by bombshells like a rape allegation, and the revelation of a 2018 email from Penelope Hegseth to her son in which she called him “an abuser of women,” a devastating whistleblower report, his own past statements, and concerns about his lack of experience in a similar role.
But the path has cleared somewhat in the past several weeks ahead of his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing Tuesday.
On Monday night’s edition of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, hours before that hearing, Maddow couldn’t suppress a laugh at an “astonishing” quote from a Wiles profile in The New York Times:
MADDOW: “The New York Times” did a profile this weekend of incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. And in the course of interviewing her for that profile, they asked Susie Wiles what exactly makes Pete Hegseth qualified for this job.
Led to this rather astonishing paragraph in their recent profile of her — quote — “Hegseth, a military veteran who has been accused by a woman of sexual assault, which he denied, has no experience leading an agency of nearly three million people.”
Quote: “‘That’s what staff is for,'” Ms. Wiles said briskly.”
Yes, we don’t need a defense secretary who can run the Defense Department — quote — “That’s what staff is for.” The little people…
(LAUGHTER)
MADDOW: … they can do it.
I’m not sure which is a better take on things from the Trump transition, right, that line from Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff. Oh, he may not be able to do it, but the little people, the staff, whoever they are, they will run that thing. Doesn’t matter that he can’t do it.
I don’t know what’s better, that line from Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff under Trump coming in, or Hegseth himself saying that, if he does get confirmed to this job, he promises he will stop with all the drinking. If he doesn’t get confirmed, well, hey. But if he does get confirmed, he’s promising he will wrap up this whole drinking thing, and so we no longer will have to worry about all the dozens of claims from his previous jobs of him drinking on the job.
He says he will quit. I’m sure he will.
I’m not sure which is a better case to the American people for this is the right guy for defense secretary, but they’re trying them both.
Keep in mind, though, just keep it in perspective, keep in mind that this nomination, the Hegseth nomination, represents the pinnacle of performance thus far from the Trump transition. This is their best effort. This is the only one of their nominees for whom they have actually been able to get it together enough to hold a hearing.
This is the staff can run it if he can’t and he will stop drinking if he gets the job. This represents the best that they can do. And this is the level of performance they are demonstrating for the American people even before they have responsibility for governing.
So, yes, we will watch what they do and not just what they say from now on and for the first 100 days and for the duration.
But it is worth saying and being real about the fact that what they are saying thus far and what they are doing thus far have both been utterly shambolic. And none of us should be afraid to say so. And none of us here are.
Watch above via MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show.
