Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Saturday that, under President Donald Trump’s administration, the U.S. military is ending the age of “utopian idealism,” concentrating on “hard-nosed realism,” and prioritizing America’s national interests.
During a speech at the Reagan Defense Forum on Saturday, Hegseth highlighted the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy, which was recently released.
Politico reported that Hegseth’s speech emphasized how the War Department and the Trump administration have developed a strategy to prioritize America’s interests and avoid becoming entangled in the conflicts and politics of other nations.
Contrasting Trump’s leadership with that of previous American presidents, Hegseth said, “President Trump knows better. He knows what it means to restore peace through strength on an enduring basis, to put our nation’s interests first and the American people first, in a way that is practical, applicable, and common sense.”
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While Hegseth explained that the Trump administration is prioritizing the American people, he said the administration’s policies not only leave America “better off,” but also “leaves our allies better off.” The secretary of war added that Trump is building on the policies he implemented during his first administration.
“It’s a vision-not the quasi imperialist delusions that led us to so many disasters in the recent decades-that will actually bring us back to the true legacy of Ronald Reagan,” Hegseth stated. “Out with utopian idealism, in with hard-nosed realism.”
According to the Department of War, Hegseth also highlighted “four key lines of effort” at the department as part of the Trump administration’s new military strategy. The department noted that the “key lines of effort” include defending America’s homeland and the Western Hemisphere, increasing the U.S. defense industrial base, deterring China through strength instead of through military force, and sharing burdens with allies and partners across the globe.
“The War Department will not be distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing, and feckless nation-building,” Hegseth said. “We will instead put our nation’s practical, concrete interests first.”
“We will deter war, we will advance our interests, we will defend our people,” Hegseth added. “Peace is our goal, and in service of that objective, we will always be ready to fight and win decisively if called upon.”