The PR Fallout of the Allegations Against Pete Hegseth: Under the Old

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Most politicians can handle one day of bad press. Hey, it happens: You suck it up, take your lumps, and move on. But what kills careers are stories with legs.

It’s that drip-drip-drip that destroys you.

And this brings us to Pete Hegseth. Lest you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Donald Trump has been making a slew of cabinet picks. Some choices have been relatively uncontroversial — Marco Rubio for secretary of state, for example — but others have generated ample controversy. At the top of the latter list is Matt Gaetz, the would-be attorney general, but a close second is Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for secretary of defense.

It’s a shame, because he has so many outstanding qualities. It’s easy to see why Trump tapped him: Hegseth is a smart, Ivy League-educated combat vet with multimedia savvy, a pro-MAGA worldview, good looks, and an undeniable TV presence. It sounds superficial, but it’s really not; in PR, the media makes the message, and all messages need a messenger. With his skillset, Hegseth could emerge as an invaluable ambassador for Trump, for MAGA, and for all the brave men and women in our Armed Services.

Unless he’s upended by sexual assault allegations.

Under the old rules — and by old, I mean that ancient “Before Time” that preceded the 2016 Age of Trump — Hegseth’s goose would be 100% cooked. The allegations are serious, but more importantly, there’s going to be a drip-drip-drip. Tactically, there are just too many opportunities for the Democratic Party-mainstream media cabal to extend the narrative.

It’s not going away.

For veteran political junkies, it’s a story we’ve seen played and replayed ad nauseum. First, a very serious allegation is made against a conservative. Then, every single day for the next month (or until the conservative resigns in disgrace), there’s a drumbeat of negative stories: How could this happen? Is it a societal problem? Any other victims? Do conservatives just not care? Why are they so evil? How do we protect our children from such horrible, vile monsters?!

What the media hopes for most of all is that the “victim” will break her silence and tell her story. Under the old rules, a sympathetic, camera-friendly victim was usually enough to torpedo Republican careers. Not always — Clarence Thomas survived (barely: 52 for, 48 against). But more often than not, your career was over. The deathblow was the visual of a sympathetic victim telling a sympathetic story to a sympathetic journalist.

Nothing personal: That’s just how this House of Cards was played.

But Donald Trump changed everything. Not on his own, however. In the irony of ironies, the Democrats are the reason why Pete Hegseth will probably be confirmed!

“Beware that when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster,” warned Friedrich Nietzsche.

The Democrats should’ve heeded his warning.

Yes, the allegations against Pete Hegseth are serious. If he’s guilty, he’s an awful human being. But the old rules no longer apply. A serious allegation, amplified by a hysterical mainstream media, are no longer enough to end Republican careers.

Wanna hear some more serious allegations? How about Trump being Hitler — that seems pretty serious! Or a Russian spy. Or a serial rapist. Or a fascist. Or a sociopath. Or a racist. Or an anti-Semite. Or a tax cheat. Or connected to the mafia. Or Putin’s puppet. Or an insurrectionist. Or trying to destroy democracy.

The Democrats have cried wolf so many times, that the public has FINALLY learned to tune them out.

That’s the danger with crying wolf: It costs you your credibility.

The Democrats were so convinced that Donald Trump was a monster that they became monsters themselves. They were so convinced he’d weaponize the government against his enemies that they weaponized the government against him first.

The American people saw all of this. And they asked themselves, “Why should we believe the accusations of monsters?”

Which is why Pete Hegseth will likely survive.