Pete Hegseth's war on gay icon Harvey Milk backfires as even his fans call him 'idiotic'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 's attempt to erase LGBTQ + icon Harvey Milk's name from a US Navy ship has backfired spectacularly with widespread backlash, including from some of his own supporters.
The controversy erupted after reports surfaced that Hegseth, 44, proposed renaming the USNS Harvey Milk - a vessel dedicated in 2021 to honor the slain gay rights pioneer and Navy veteran.
Milk served four years during the Korean War before being discharged due to questions about his sexual orientation. He went on to become the first openly gay member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was assassinated in 1978.
Hegseth and the broader Trump administration are now facing criticism from veterans' groups, high-profile public figures and former DoD Secretary fans, including Newsweek's political editor Carlo Versano, over the controversial renaming effort.
'I've never before seen a Secretary of Defense so aggressively demote himself to the rank of Chief PETTY Officer,' actor Sean Penn, 64, who portrayed Milk in the Oscar-winning 2008 biopic Milk, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Dustin Lance Black, the film's screenwriter, also criticized the move as politically divisive.
'This is yet another move to distract and to fuel the culture wars that create division,' Black, 50, told The Hollywood Reporter.
'It's meant to get us to react in ways that are self-centered so that we are further distanced from our brothers and sisters in equally important civil rights fights in this country. It's divide and conquer.'
The progressive veterans' group VoteVets also condemned the move.
'At the start of Pride Month, Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy to strip Harvey Milk's name from a ship,' the group wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
'A man who served with honor - erased to send a message. This is a deliberate insult to LGBTQ troops and Americans that weakens our force and shreds the values we fight for.'
Versano, who was once a cautious supporter of Hegseth's Pentagon appointment, has since turned sharply critical.
In a column titled 'Now Boarding the USS Idiocracy,' the Newsweek's political editor wrote, 'I cannot believe I once wrote here that I was cautiously optimistic about Hegseth as someone who could shake up the Pentagon. Was I on drugs?'
He added, 'This guy is such an embarrassment to be leading our military… this is what the Defense Department is sitting around worrying about right now?'
Several public officials have also voiced their outrage.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X: 'Erasing Harvey Milk's name is disgusting, blatant discrimination - and during Pride Month to boot. He served the U.S. Navy and his country honorably... Hegseth should be ashamed of himself and reverse this immediately.'
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi added, 'The reported decision... is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American dream.'
Former Pentagon official Alex Wagner, who helped lead the department's first Pride event in 2012, said the decision was 'disappointing, but no surprise.'
Wagner noted, 'When I served... we prioritized building and resourcing a ready force capable of deterring, denying, and - if necessary - defeating the People's Liberation Army.
We sought to harness one of our greatest strategic advantages - the diverse experiences and expertise of all Americans.'
In defense of the renaming initiative, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated, 'Secretary Hegseth is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos.'
According to CBS News, an internal Navy memo cited the renaming as an effort to ensure 'alignment with president and SECDEF objectives and SECNAV priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture.'
The document also indicated that other Navy ships - named after historical figures such as Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez, and Medgar Evers - are also under review for potential renaming.
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