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  3. Victor Davis Hanson: Pete Hegseth Delivered the Military Turnaround Washington Said Was Impossible
December 17, 2025
December 17, 2025

•Episode length: 11m

The Heritage Foundation

Victor Davis Hanson: Pete Hegseth Delivered the Military Turnaround Washington Said Was Impossible

Episode length: 11m

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The criticisms against Sec. of War Pete Hegseth are “entirely political,” and anyone could have said the same things about “the Obama and Biden administration—and much more egregiously.”

Hegseth has turned the U.S. military around in ways no one thought was possible, like getting the military back to meeting all of its recruiting quotas, explains Hanson during today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

Recruitment under the Biden administration fell “some 40 to 50,000 recruits,” and former Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin’s Pentagon used excuses like “people are out of shape, in gangs, using drugs, etc.”

“The real cause was, as Pete Hegseth said when he came in, that people felt that the military was not emphasizing combat, battlefield efficacy… [Now,] There is a record number of Army recruits. The military has met all of its recruiting. That is equivalent to the dramatic revolution on the southern border. Nobody thought we could close the border. We did. Nobody thought we could get recruitment back. Pete Hegseth did,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words:”

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Host:
•Rob Bluey
Guest:
•VDVictor Davis Hanson

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