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Everybody hates Pete Hegseth [1]

['Rob Beschizza']

Date: 2026-09-28  

House leader Mike Johnson ended congress early to avoid a vote on impeaching Pete Hegseth, President Trump's crusader-tattooed "Secretary of War," and opinion polls show why. Never popular in the first place, Hegseth is now among the administration's most widely-disliked personalities, an outcome downstream of his frattish machismo, documented ineptitude and the dismal grind of the war on Iran.

"Basically everyone hates Hegseth," reports CNN's Harry Enten, running the numbers, "if you're the American public."

According to a Marquette Poll taken early in September, 25% of Americans have a favorable view of Hegseth, and 49% view him unfavorably, a -24 net favorability. And that's his best result. Quinnipiac found that 32% approve of his performance as Secretary of Defense, with 57% disapproving, a -25 net. Among independents, his net disapproval rating was minus 43, and of American voters as a whole, 39% have confidence in his military leadership, with 56% reporting "little to no confidence."

Here's Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson (laugh track may be inaudible):

"Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader for the Department of War and, at President Trump's direction, has ushered in a new era of Peace Through Strength. Standards and merit are back, our arsenal is stronger than ever before, and morale and recruitment across every service are at all-time highs. Secretary Hegseth has slashed bureaucracy, unleashed innovation, and delivered for our warfighters every step of the way. By every measurable metric, the Department of War is better under Secretary Hegseth's leadership than before. The entire Department is unified behind the Secretary's vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first."

Trump hasn't canned him, though, so he must be good at something.

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