Elizabeth Warren has always been one to seize an opportunity to make headlines, but her latest attempt to take a swipe at Pete Hegseth might go down as one of her most self-defeating moments. In her eagerness to attack Hegseth—a Trump nominee for Secretary of Defense—Warren managed to craft an argument that unintentionally pointed the blame squarely back at her own party. Let’s break this down.
The controversy began when The New Yorker published a hit piece alleging that Hegseth had a history of drinking problems while leading a veteran advocacy group. While some of his former colleagues have disputed those claims, Democrats didn’t wait to verify the story before pouncing. Sensing an opening, Warren issued a statement accusing Hegseth of being unfit for the role, citing a series of troubling statistics about sexual assaults in the military.
In 2023, over 29,000 active-duty troops were sexually assaulted, including more than 6 in every 100 women in the military.
Many servicemembers never report these crimes. The rates of assault are estimated to be up to 4x higher.
Pete Hegseth must not be the Defense Secretary.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 4, 2024
But here’s the problem: the timeline of events Warren described is firmly situated within the Biden administration, with Lloyd Austin serving as Secretary of Defense. That’s right—the very issues Warren highlighted happened under her own party’s leadership. It’s an irony so glaring that it’s almost hard to believe she missed it. Yet, there it was: Warren effectively admitting that her party had overseen widespread sexual misconduct in the military, while simultaneously using those failures as a cudgel against a Republican nominee.
This kind of self-inflicted wound raises a serious question: does Warren simply not grasp how bad this looks, or does she hope voters won’t notice? Either way, it’s not a good look. The numbers she cited are troubling—six percent of active-duty servicewomen reported being sexually assaulted in a single year, according to at least one study. Most incidents occurred on military bases or during deployments, with hazing and bullying playing a significant role. These are deeply concerning statistics, and they deserve serious attention. But Warren’s attempt to use them as a partisan attack only underscores the fact that these failures happened on her watch.
So, because Biden’s Defense Secretary failed you’re going to blame someone that was nominated to fix it?
Not understanding the logic here, Pocahontas. Want to try again?
— Roscoe Smith IV (@LoneStarLegendX) December 4, 2024
