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CNN contributor Scott Jennings went scorched earth on a panel Tuesday evening, aptly defending President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.

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The crux of the left’s argument against Hegseth is that he has been a political analyst for Fox News. Apparently, the revolving door of Democrat administrations with mainstream media is perfectly okay, but anything going in the other direction … not so much.

The left has somehow boiled Hegsteh’s entire career down to that aspect of his resume — Fox News contributor — and neglected all of his other credentials. 

Pete Hegseth Nominated to be Secretary of Defense

An Army National Guard officer with two Bronze Star medals, two Army Commendation medals, and a National Defense Service medal, for instance. A Princeton grad who went on to earn a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Oh, and the former executive director of Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.

None of that matters, you see, because as the left would like you to believe, he’s just a lowly Fox News talking head.

Enter Scott Jennings, who takes a MOAB to that argument and tears apart current Pentagon leadership to boot.

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“Does anybody have confidence in the current leadership of the Pentagon and the way the defense situation has been operating for the last several years?” Jennings railed. “I mean — from the Afghanistan pullout, which was an extreme debacle for which no one was held accountable. We’ve had spy balloons flying over the United States. We built a $300 million pier as a public relations stunt, which wound up killing an American service member.”

He added, “I’d say I’ve had just about enough of the so-called insiders running the Defense Department, and I think we ought to give Pete Hegseth a chance.”

Amen, brother.

It was such the verbal beating that Carl Bernstein, a political commentator for CNN and famed Watergate journalist, was left a sputtering mess.

“You think that’s about — that’s about insiders?” he countered.

It should be noted that Bernstein has previously referred to President-elect Trump as an “American war criminal” for his questioning of election integrity in 2020. Whatever that man once was in the field of journalism, he is nothing but a caricature of a man he thinks CNN viewers want to see today.

And Jennings had a field day with him.

“All the criticism of him is that he’s not the expected Washington pick, and I am just saying to you that the American people just voted against the expected Washington pick,” Jennings leveled. “So I — he’s got 20 years in service. Afghanistan, Iraq. Two Bronze Stars, Princeton, Harvard. Yeah, he’s on TV, but so are the rest of us, and I think he ought to be given a chance.”

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He proceeded to point out that, just like every other Defense Secretary before him, Hegseth would have to prove himself in the job.

“He will have to go up there just like everybody else and prove his knowledge of how to do this job. He is not immune to that,” Jennings continued. “But we ought to give this man a chance, in my opinion.”

Trump, as he often does, makes a more straight-to-the-point argument for why he has nominated Hegseth for the position.

“Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” a statement reads. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”

That’s a hell of a start.

@kaelandorr Pete Hegseth is above target for sure 🎯 #maga #fypage #army #defense #pentagon #trump #trumptrain #presidenttrump #trump2024 #kamala #kamalaharris #military #militarytiktok #donaldtrump ♬ original sound – KD MAGA

Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz warned Republicans about any effort trying to sink the Hegseth nomination.

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“I dare any Republican senator to vote against him,” Chaffetz told Laura Ingraham. “That is not in their best interest. And we need to get him in place as soon as possible. Relief is on the way. This is exactly what I think America was striving for.”

If you’d like some insight as to how Hegseth might address his role as Secretary of Defense, take a look at Jim Thompson’s review of his book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free. 

Thompson notes that Hegseth pulls no punches in his examination of the cultural rot infesting the military. Will he be the one to clean up that rot?

As Jennings said, we ought to give the guy a chance.