Concerns are mounting over Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth. CBS News reports that Hegseth was one of 12 National Guard members who were removed as guards for President Biden’s 2021 inauguration over possible extremist ties. Hegseth has tattoos associated with the white supremacist and neo-Nazi movements, including what’s known as a Jerusalem cross, a symbol used by Christian nationalists.
In related news, the government watchdog Accountable.US announced it’s launching a “Trump Accountability War Room” to monitor Trump’s appointments and executive actions as he takes up his second term.
Might be an unpopular comment, but I googled the Jerusalem cross and it appears to be more of a religious symbol than anything.
Saying he has tattoos linked with white nationalists is just sensationalism. And it has gotten the exact response in this thread that it wanted.
Might be an unpopular comment, but I googled the Swastika and it appears to be more of a religious symbol than anything.
😂 Clearly you googled neither… literally every link for “swastika” mentions nazis. Google “Jerusalem cross” and the only posts you see related to white nationalism are Reddit posts with people asking if the symbol is related to white nationalism/nazis and nearly every comment saying it is not.
I am looking at other photos. I can also see “Ne Desit Virtus” (Let Valor Not Fail) with a sword. That’s a symbol from the 187th Infantry Regiment. I also see the Chi Rho symbol, a Greek symbol for the name of Christ. Another tattoo is “MDCCLXXV” for 1775. Above that tattoo is an American Flag with a gun superimposed on it. I am not sure if these mean a recalling of the US War for Independence. The gun looks modern but could also serve as a bridge to the modern military of the US. On his other arm is “Deus Vult.”
Broadly speaking, these tattoos suggest both military service and Christian identity.
Not found are any symbols I’ve seen identified with White Nationalism. No Valknot, swastika, black sun, 88 symbol, Confederate symbolism, etc.
Edit: The photo I was looking at is here: [https://i.imgur.com/kkroDES.png].
Dude is definitely a nut, but when we start throwing around terms like “white nationalists” for things that are absolutely not white nationalism, it dilutes the impact of claims about people who legitimately are white nationalists.
https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/ Christo-fascists can hate just like Nazis can.
Deus Vult has indeed been co-opted by white supremacists along with a lot of crusader/christian symbolism.
Almost like its coded so as to not blatantly say “I’m a white supremist” while also clearly signaling to people he is.
Are people just learning about plausible deniability?
Now that said, sure this could be a nothing burger, but when coupled to be right wing…
What’s that saying?
You find me a nazi I can sure bet they’d be voting Republican.
They might mean other tattoos, he seems to have a collection.
It still makes him a religious weirdo, possibly with a bizarre crusade fetish. Not a great look.
The article specifically mentioned that tattoo and no other ones… I’m not saying this dude is qualified for the job. There’s probably tons of legit reasons to hate this pick.
This article is just rage bate, though. And judging by this thread it is a successful one.
Yes and the swastika is the symbol of well-being
Yes, and any cross is a symbol of white nationalism because they were used by the KKK.
Not every symbol used by racist people is a symbol of racism. You gave the one most extreme example where a symbol was co-opted and can never mean anything else again.
And you gave an example of why dog whistles work, plausible deniability.
Not to detract from this guy likely yes being a massive nazi piece of shit-
-but many deeply religious Polish Catholics who lived through WW2 and the atrocities, had (maybe still have, idk all my grandparents and aunties who did are now dead) Jerusalem crosses on their walls, usually displayed alongside their many JP2 pictures, crucifixes and black madonna’s.
Also not to say that many of these Polish Catholics weren’t also massive racists, but I’m pretty sure the Jerusalem crosses they displayed were a Catholic thing for them rather than a white supremacy thing.
Edit: The only tattoos any of them had were id numbers though. None would have ever considered getting huge Jerusalem cross tattoos (maybe a small tastefully done portrait of JP2 crossed the mind of one or two).
It’s been coopted by the far right for a while now. Pete is not a Polish Babushka, the symbol has a different meaning to him.
https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/
There’s a version of the Jerusalem Cross used by Episcopalian service members, according to Wikipedia. I’m not American, so I don’t know the exact connotation of the symbol on that side of the pond, it could still be harmless. As an outsider, I’d associate it with the crusades (or the country of Georgia), but it doesn’t have to be intended that way.
Now, the fact that he’s a Trump appointee automatically makes him suspect, of course, but it’s less like “He has a Nazi tattoo, therefore Trump appointed a Nazi” and more “Trump appoints Nazis, therefore the tattoo is a Nazi tattoo”.
It’s a symbol that’s been coopted by hate groups. I understand the reticence to call it a hate symbol as it can be used by cultural people in a different context. The far right took Celtic runes and the Celtic cross from me and my people and turned it into a symbols of hate. They’ve done it with Norse runes as well. It’s what they do, the swastika was originally a symbol of peace and trust.
So yes context matters. Trump appoints alt right nut jobs who twist the meaning of cultural symbols so that they can spread a message of hate. This is what I am upset about, and likely others are as well.