A Republican strategist pooh-poohed speculation that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was hitting the road to drum up support for his own political ambitions.
President Donald Trump's defense secretary took a taxpayer-funded military aircraft Monday to visit the Iowa State Fair with Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), who is running for re-election, but GOP strategist Kristin Davison told "CNN This Morning" that she's not buying rumors that Hegseth was setting himself up for a presidential run or another political office after his time in the Trump administration ends.
"I don't think this is Hegseth's launch in the 2028 [election]," Davison said. "Maybe he likes the bacon on a stick at the state fair – it's very good. But I do think, exactly, you know, these campaigns know what's going to work in their race. The White House political operation, they're smart people. They're not going to send folks out there who are going to hurt the candidate. So there's obviously data that probably shows that this helps rile up the base."
"There's a connection with Congressman Zach Nunn; they have the military connection," she added. "So these cabinet officials will not go somewhere that isn't requested."
Journalist Jerusalem Demsas wondered what value Hegseth brought to Nunn's campaign.
"I think Hegseth is really far outside the mainstream of even the Republican Party, to be honest," Demsas said, "and I think that it's, you know, you see even Democrats, Republicans all the time campaigning with people that I think probably don't help them."
"So I don't think it's a proof point that, you know, someone invited him to campaign with them," Demsas added. "I think Hegseth is an extraordinarily weak candidate. He's someone who's, you know, going to be extremely vulnerable on foreign policy, extremely vulnerable to attacks from the base of the Republican Party. You're seeing all of these podcasters get very angry about the foreign policy of this administration. I do think it's going to be a problem for him if he if he's serious about being president."
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