'Stone cold idiot': Hegseth battered for 'faux-alpha-male bluster' NATO speech

A Thursday press conference at NATO by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth left some viewers commenting that they were "embarrassed to be an American."

So far this week, Hegseth has announced he will block Ukraine from NATO membership and announced that full liberation from Russia was unrealistic for the country.

"We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, but we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective," he told allies. "Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering."

ALSO READ: 'Big misogynist': Female Dem senators give scathing early assessment of Pete Hegseth

On Thursday, he went on to say, "We can talk all we want about values. Values are important. But you can't shoot values."

"Perhaps. But you damn sure can abandon them," commented former GOP chairman Michael Steele.

"Umm, what?" asked Joe Flood, better known as the "Red Bike Guy," a white nationalist heckler who went viral in 2023.

"Hegseth is the perfect avatar for Trumpist foreign policy: All about faux-alpha-male bluster and constant assertions of aggressive dominance, all based on the idea that there are no rules or values, there is only power, and the biggest privilege of the powerful is to bully the rest," said Georgetown historian Thomas Zimmer.

"God this guy is an idiot. like, a stone-cold idiot who sincerely believes that warfighting and preparedness is about having the biggest d--k," said New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie.

"So wrong and so scary!" agreed Mark Hovath, who founded the organization Invisible People, which gives homeless people a voice.

Documentary filmmaker Lindsay Beyerstein commented, "As much as Hegseth would like to shoot values, they cannot be mowed down."

"What a philosopher... He doesn't seem to understand that hard power and soft power work together," quipped ex-journalist and Professor Matthew Fraser.

A reporter also asked Hegseth what concessions Russian President Vladimir Putin was willing to make for the Ukraine peace talks.

"Um. Well, that's — I would start by saying the arguments that have been made that somehow coming to the table right now is making concessions to Vladimir Putin outright, or that we otherwise — that the president of the United States shouldn't otherwise make. I just reject that at its face," Hegseth answered causing more confusion from viewers.

"This man is completely out of his depth. Embarrassing to put this on the world stage at such a crucial time. Maybe he should stick to renaming bases," said former state and federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski.

Reporter Bastian Brauns commented, "Wahnsinn," which translates to "madness."

"Drunky McDrunkFace is an embarrassment," posted intelligence and national security policy analyst who identifies himself only as Maine Wonk.