While The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed today that the Trump administration’s national security leaders accidentally texted him their plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth released a video of him boarding a plane at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Hegseth captioned the video (below): “Wheels up from @Andrews_JBA—out to the @INDOPACOM AO for the first time as SECDEF. The Indo-Pacific is our priority theater, and we’re strengthening our deterrence, readiness, and alliances. We will lead with strength, resolve, and purpose.”
Note: U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) headquarters is located on Camp Smith just outside of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Wheels up from @Andrews_JBA—out to the @INDOPACOM AO for the first time as SECDEF. The Indo-Pacific is our priority theater, and we’re strengthening our deterrence, readiness, and alliances. We will lead with strength, resolve, and purpose. pic.twitter.com/n8yY8ynYc1
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 24, 2025
While many MAGA supporters wished Hegseth “a safe and productive trip” and “godspeed,” some were more critical of Hegseth’s trip. As one replied: “I thought the southern border was the priority theater?”
Others among President Trump’s MAGA supporters were more critical of Hegseth’s travel attire — a blue Oxford shirt with jeans, a vest, and a baseball hat — than his purpose.
The X account “StopWokeBSCulture” responded: “What an embarrassment. The guy at the edge of the vid managed to put on a suit and dress like a grown up, but Hegseth dresses like a child. Embarrassing.”
What an embarrassment. The guy at the edge of the vid managed to put on a suit and dress like a grown up, but Hegseth dresses like a child.
Embarrassing.
— StopBSWokeCulture
(@MkayUokay) March 24, 2025
Another chimed in, “Haven’t you got a suit?” — which commenters took as a jab referencing the Trump administration mocking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not wearing a suit during his Oval Office meeting with the President.
Another commenter brought up Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, where Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asked Hegseth to name some of the country members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and he replied, “We have allies in South Korea, and Japan, and Australia.”
The Senator replied sternly that the countries Hegseth named are not members of ASEAN and told Hegseth: “You are not technically proficient. You are not tactically proficient. And your nomination is an insult to those brave enough to be serving our nation.”
Duckworth’s objections didn’t move the needle, and Hegseth was confirmed on a partisan vote.
[NOTE: ASEAN is an inter-governmental international organization, comprising Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia.]