Here is the hairy question.
Did Secretary of War Pete Hegseth aim at Vice President JD Vance, a possible 2028 rival, in his war on “beardos” in the military?
Vance, after all, does sport a beard, even though he Is not in the military. But he is second in command to President Donald Trump, the commander in chief.
Vance will also be a contested frontrunner to succeed Trump. One of those contestants could be Hegseth.
So, it could turn out to be a preliminary “Battle of the Beard” between the clean-shaven Hegseth and the Lincolnesque bearded Vance.
If Vance suddenly comes out clean shaven, you will know that Hegseth has won an early skirmish.
Hegseth made his comments about banning beards in the miliary during his speech before an unusual gathering of hundreds of generals and admirals at Quantico last Tuesday.
In that speech, in which he called for the end of “woke garbage” in the military—including the banning of “dudes in dresses” –he also announced that the elimination of beards in the military.
“No more beardos,” he said. “The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done.”
Which led one observer to ask, “Is he talking about banning beardos or weirdos?”
Probably both.
Although not addressing Vance, Hegseth said to the gathering, “If you want a beard, you can join Special Forces.
“If not, then shave. We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans, but, unfortunately, we have had leaders who either refuse to call BS and enforce standards, or leaders who felt they were not allowed to enforce standards. Both are unacceptable.”
Both Hegseth, 45, and Vance, 41, are veterans. Hegseth, a Princeton graduate, served in Iraq as an infantry officer and later in Afghanistan with the Minnesota National Guard. He was decorated and ended his military career with the rank of major.
Vance, 41, joined the U.S, Marines in 2003 after graduating from high school. He was deployed to Iraq in 2005 for six months serving as a Marine Corp correspondent. His rank upon discharge was corporal.
While Hegseth may have outranked Vance in the past, Vance outranks him now, at least in theory.
Both men were surprise picks by Trump. Vance was a Ohio senator when Trump chose hm as his running mate, and Hegseth was a television commentator on Fox News when Trump selected him for then Secretary of the Defense (now War) Department.
The difference between the two is that Hegseth runs the War Department and the huge worldwide U.S. military machine. Outside of president, it is the biggest job in government.
Vance, meanwhile, as vice president, essentially doesn’t run anything. Outside of being around to break a tie in the Senate, or replacing a deceased or incapacitated president, the vice president has few duties.
However, in Vance’s case, Trump has given him a leading role in speaking for him and the administration both at home and abroad, and he has been effective at it.
When he speaks, you know that it is Trump talking. The only problem is that Trump never stops talking.
You could also hear Trump talking, with a bit more articulation, through Hegseth, however, when he vowed to eliminate the “politically correct and toxic ideological garbage that has infected” the military.
“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction or gender delusions, no more debris. As I’ve said before, we are done with that shit.”
It’s enough to make me want to reenlist—or at least get a shave.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com
US Vice President JD Vance speaks during the press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)