At the Senate Armed Services Committee ( SASC ) hearing, Pete Hegseth’s Jerusalem Cross tattoo emerged as a focal point.
Hegseth, President Donald Trump‘s pull for Secretary of Defence, was grilled on different aspects of his history, including his skills and his opinions on military authority. However, the debate rapidly shifted to his scar.
Hegseth was asked by Senator Kevin Cramer to handle the controversy surrounding the scar, which some had deemed to be an extremist image. Hegseth explained that it was a Jerusalem Cross,” a legendary Christian symbol”, hardly an extremist badge.
He also made note of the fact that the same image was prominently displayed at the National Cathedral and at President Jimmy Carter’s death.
Hegseth’s reportedly revoked orders to provide with his National Guard unit at the commencement of President Joe Biden due to the tattoo of his Jerusalem Cross. Reflecting on the events leading up to the inauguration of President Joe Biden, Hegseth recounted,” I had commands to come to Washington, D. C., to protect that opening, and at the last moment, those commands were revoked. I’ve been on purchases to a lot of places, but I had never had directions revoked before”.
” If that’s happening to me, how many other republicans, how many people of conscience, have been subjected to similar treatment”? he added.
What’s the scar?
Four smaller passes are engraved in the corners of the tattoo, a representation of the Jerusalem Cross. Hegseth’s past tattoos, including one on his shoulder that reads” Deus Vult” ( God wills it ), have questionable traditional meanings.
Hegseth’s followers and defenders claim that the tattoos themselves are individual expressions of devotion, despite the social media outcry.
Hegseth reaffirmed that the increasing emphasis on fanaticism in the army has resulted in a politicisation of the armed forces after the tattoo was a key point in discussions on fanaticism and military readiness at the Senate reading.
” Points like focusing on fanaticism have created a culture inside our divisions that feels social, when it’s never been democratic before”, said Hegseth.
