Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced backlash and mockery Thursday over a speech about the war with Iran in which he railed against what he called the “dumb, politically correct wars of the past” and insisted the timeline of the U.S.-Israeli military operations is “ours and ours alone to control.”

“The dumb, politically correct wars of the past were the opposite of what we’re doing here,” Hegseth boasted at a news conference in Tampa, adding that previous conflicts had “vague objectives with restrictive, minimalist rules of engagement.”

He declared, “No more.”

Hegseth also bragged about the scale of U.S. military power involved in the conflict and said: “We set the tempo. We set the timeline,” a line that some social media users suggested meant Americans were being dragged into yet another forever war.

Hegseth: The dumb, politically correct wars of the past were the opposite of what we're doing here. They had vague objectives with restrictive, minimalist rules of engagement. No more. Our authorities are maxed out. Our capabilities are overwhelming and gathering still, as are… pic.twitter.com/cGNhdBBrlg

Other critics, meanwhile, asked exactly what a politically correct war was ― and accused him of sloganeering and empty rhetoric.

It's starting to look like South Park's portrayal of him was a lot more nuanced and subtle than we thought.

Wait.. which wars are politically correct?

Ah, the art of empty sloganeering.How much are we paying him for this?

Do they just attach "politically correct" now to anything they want to disparage? Because I've seen a number of wars in my lifetime - Falklands, Balkans, Gulf, Iraq, Gulf II, Afghanistan…None of them were "politically correct".

Does he even listen to himself?

Why do ALL of their explanations have to include some other administration in the past? I mean every time they open their mouths.

This Iran war doesn't have a vague objective? OK--what is the objective? So far there have been many objectives mentioned, none of which have made sense. Regime change? Yes say some; no say others.

So it IS a forever war.

War and politically correct are oxymorons in the first place. 🙄

What is a politically correct war

He isn't capable of simply just stating what is going on and what the plan is -- no professionalism or solemnity whatsoever.

Vague objectives eh? We have had 7 different reasons for this war so far

He’s so embarrassing.

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.