In a clip posted to social media, Senator Elizabeth Warren cracked under pressure when questioned about her open-borders views. Charles R. Downs asked the Senator about her support of Secretary of State Pete Hegseth. She deflected the question by parroting tired DNC talking points. Democrats have long criticized Hegseth for his strong Christian views
“Senator real fast. What qualifies you to vote against Pete Hegseth, when you support dangerous open border policies, you don’t want to answer about open borders? The reporter asked. To which Warren replied, “You know, I’m really happy to answer, [it] is dangerous to national security when we have someone who is repeatedly drunk, we have affidavits, we have eyewitnesses who have said this, I care about the national security of the United States because I care about my children and my grandchildren.”
Last year, in an extended dialogue on PBS, several liberal commentators expressed their distaste for Hegseth’s strong Christian views. Hegseth returned to the faith after his service in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2018, and he has written several books which mention his Christianity. The nominee has also discussed his faith in podcasts and TV appearances.
Recently his tattoos, which feature millennia-old Christian symbols, have stoked controversy. Brad Onishi, who studies religious extremism and co-hosts the podcast “Straight White American Jesus,” ranted about Hegseth. “Let’s start with what Hegseth has said explicitly. In his 2020 book, he wrote: “We don’t want to fight, but like our fellow Christians 1,000 years ago, we must. Our American crusade is not about literal swords, and our fight is not with guns yet.’” According to this activist, it is ‘problematic’ that Hegseth sees himself as part of a strong Christian tradition.
The podcaster went on to say,” What we do know is that those who don the crusader identity, those who use its symbology and its stories as inspiration, are often part of white nationalist and Christian nationalist movements and, in tragic cases, have waged holy war themselves.” Onishi believes that referencing the crusades, which occurred hundreds of years ago, as Muslim armies invaded Europe is something only ‘ white nationalists’ do.
He specifically mentioned the Jerusalem cross on Hegseth’s chest, which Onishi incorrectly calls a ‘templar cross.’ This symbol, which features five crosses, has been in use since the 11th century. It represents the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and has been used by various Christian organizations. For generations, it has been a common tattoo for pilgrims to Jerusalem. King Edward VII of England had the symbol tattooed on his arm after visiting the holy city in the 1860s.
But Brad Onishi sees it as a symbol of hate. ” Well, those tattoos are, again, symbols that are used by white Christian nationalists. Those who have adopted these Crusader images see themselves as at war with those trying to take down American Christianity and Western civilization at large.” He goes on to list exactly who this symbol offends.
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Watch Warren’s meltdown here:
He goes on to say. “That means members of the LGBTQ community. That means trans people. That means those who don’t see themselves as part of a Christian society. There’s a temptation, I think, to write off Hegseth’s tattoos as just an expression of his faith or to say they’re no big deal. But we just talked about him as donning a Crusader identity.”
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video