What Lawmakers Need To Keep In Mind About Hegseth
The One Psychological Blind Spot That Could Cost Washington…And America…Again
What Lawmakers Need To Keep In Mind About Hegseth
The One Psychological Blind Spot That Could Cost Washington…And America…Again
The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #670: Monday, December 1st, 2025.
Author’s note:
Fair disclosure: I wrote 99.9% of this 8-9 days ago. That’s largely…if not entirely… irrelevant. A bigger story came along…and it got shelved…temporarily. The only change I’ve made was in the subtitle.
The moment we’re in…calls for what I discuss in this article…now…more than ever.
The Most Dangerous Political Misread in Washington Right Now
Let me rip the bandage off fast:
If lawmakers walk into this moment thinking Pete Hegseth is “basically Trump with better hair,” they’re going to get blindsided so hard…they won’t know what hit them.
That comparison…repeated by pundits…strategists…and half-asleep political consultants…is the single most dangerous misread happening in politics right now.
Hegseth isn’t “Trump 2.0.”
He isn’t “MAGA warmed over.”
He isn’t “just another performer built for cable news.”
He is something Trump never was: mission-driven…disciplined…and psychologically structured for long-term conflict.
If lawmakers treat him like the rambling narcissist who needs applause to live another 24 hours…they will walk straight into a trap.
Because Hegseth’s danger isn’t in how loud he is.
It’s in how clear he is.
Let me put this in the language D.C. understands:
Trump is a problem because he’s reckless.
Hegseth is a problem because he’s intentional.
Trump falls apart when ignored.
Hegseth thrives in the shadows between battles.
Trump lashes out to protect his ego.
Hegseth advances an ideological blueprint.
One breaks things accidentally.
The other breaks things on purpose.
And I’m going to show you exactly why…structurally…psychologically…strategically… lawmakers miscalculating the difference between these two men…is one of the biggest unforced errors I’ve seen in over 30 years of studying…and shaping… human behavior
Because here’s the truth:
Trump’s chaos is episodic.
Hegseth’s purpose is continuous.
And purpose is always more dangerous than ego.
Why Comparing Hegseth to Trump Will Get Lawmakers Crushed
1. Hegseth Has Something Trump Never Had: A Mission He Actually Believes In
You can say many things about Trump.
But belief?
Conviction?
A guiding principle?
Forget it.
Trump believes in Trump.
Full stop.
Hegseth, on the other hand, has a fully constructed worldview tied to:
• religion
• military ethos
• culture war absolutism
• a “good vs evil” frame
• and a sense of divine mandate
When a politician believes their mission is sacred?
They stop thinking in terms of elections….and start thinking in terms of crusades.
Trump plays a character.
Hegseth plays for keeps.
Lawmakers who don’t understand this difference will be negotiating with the wrong man…the one they think he is…not the one he actually is.
And in politics…misreading someone’s psychological operating system…is like misreading the fuse length on a bomb.
2. Hegseth Doesn’t Need Praise the Way Trump Does…He Needs Progress
Trump requires constant supply:
• attention
• validation
• praise
• flattery
Without it…he crumbles into tantrums…paralysis…bitterness.
But Hegseth?
Different beast entirely.
Hegseth needs progress.
Forward movement.
Advancement of the tribe.
Momentum of the mission.
He doesn’t fall apart without applause.
He doubles down.
He doesn’t wilt under pressure.
He sharpens.
This is the psychology of a culture-war general…not a fragile performer.
Lawmakers can exhaust Trump…by starving him of attention.
Hegseth…grows stronger when ignored.
That…right there…changes everything.
3. Hegseth’s Loyalty Structure Is NOT Transactional
Trump’s loyalty is simple:
“You’re useful until you’re not.”
He discards people like receipts.
Hegseth operates from tribal loyalty…a soldier’s version of politics.
It’s cohesive…group-centered…us-vs-them thinking.
That doesn’t make him noble…it makes him dangerous…because tribal loyalty in the wrong hands becomes permission for extremism.
Trump breaks alliances because he’s insecure.
Hegseth strengthens alliances because he’s purposeful.
Lawmakers facing Trump face chaos.
Lawmakers facing Hegseth face cohesion.
Chaos you can exploit.
Cohesion you cannot.
Not easily.
Not safely.
Not without understanding exactly how it forms.
4. Trump Avoids Conflict. Hegseth Seeks It.
This is the part not enough people understand:
Trump doesn’t love conflict.
He loves the attention around conflict…he hates the stakes of real confrontation.
Which is why he lies…dodges…cries foul…flips positions…and rewrites reality.
Conflict threatens his ego.
But Hegseth?
Conflict confirms his identity.
He thrives on:
• opposition
• pushback
• cultural friction
• the feeling of political combat
It gives him meaning.
This single distinction makes him infinitely more durable in high-pressure scenarios.
Especially legal ones.
Especially geopolitical ones.
Especially moments…where institutions are already strained.
Trump collapses under weight.
Hegseth braces under it.
Lawmakers need to know…which opponent they’re facing.
Because one cracks easily.
The other cracks you.
5. Trump Performs. Hegseth Mobilizes.
This might be the most important difference of all.
Trump is a showman.
A performer.
A spectacle.
Hegseth…is a mobilizer.
He doesn’t just want people watching him…
he wants people following him.
Trump wants attention.
Hegseth wants alignment.
Trump wants fans.
Hegseth wants soldiers.
One tries to be the center of the room.
The other tries to turn the room…into a formation.
Lawmakers prepared for a performer…will get blindsided…by a crusader.
And make no mistake…that’s what he is.
A crusader with a clearer mission…a firmer identity…and a far more stable psychological foundation than Trump ever had. Don’t mistake that for praise. It’s not. It’s purely psychological analysis.
The 5 Things Lawmakers MUST Understand Before They Step Into the Ring
What Lawmakers MUST Understand…Right Now
To everyone in government, on both sides of the aisle:
If you engage Hegseth as if he’s Trump, you will get outplayed.
Because:
Trump’s power was attention.
Hegseth’s power is belief.
Trump’s weakness was fragility.
Hegseth’s weakness is rigidity.
Trump’s game was improvisation.
Hegseth’s game is ideology.
And ideology….once rooted in identity…does not bend easily.
If lawmakers want to avoid disaster…here’s the blueprint:
1. Don’t negotiate with him like he has a transactional ego.
He doesn’t.
He will not crumble when ignored.
He will intensify.
2. Don’t expect chaos to implode him.
Purpose is not chaos.
He’s stable under pressure…because the pressure validates his mission.
3. Don’t assume you can fracture his coalition by humiliating him.
Shame crushes Trump. It hardens Hegseth.
There’s NO psychological overlap.
4. Understand that his followers are not “fans.”
They’re believers.
And believers…act differently than fans.
Fans drift.
Believers…commit.
5. Don’t treat him like an entertainer.
Treat him like an ideologue…who has studied how institutions respond to force.
Because…that’s exactly what he is.
Why This Matters to Anyone Who Cares About Democracy’s Future?
Why This Matters to YOU…the reader…the voter…the citizen
Because you are going to hear…again and again….this lazy phrase:
“He’s just like Trump.”
No.
He’s not.
He’s what happens when the movement stops being dependent on one man’s ego…and becomes a fully functional ideology…with a psychologically stable…mission-driven operator at the helm.
You don’t have to like that truth.
But…you’d better understand it.
Because lawmakers who don’t?
Will get steamrolled.
And when they do…it won’t be because Hegseth is brilliant.
It’ll be because they made the fatal mistake…of thinking all threats look the same.
Trump is a fire.
Hegseth is a furnace.
One flares.
The other sustains.
And if you don’t know the difference…you’re walking blind.
#HoldFast
More soon.
-Jack
I worked for the Department of Defense for 22 years and believe I somewhat know how the military thinks. They despise Plastered Petey and you failed to mention one of Petey’s biggest weaknesses and that he is a drunk and his third wife goes to work with him to ensure he does not drink!!!
I appreciate Jack's perspective. One thing that will condemn Hegseth is not how he is driven, but by who he tries to drive. Career Military officers are more driven than Hegseth. If Hegseth tries to overplay his hand with the senior officers, they will turn on him. This you will never see publicly. It will be like the reaction we observed following the Trump/Hegseth "come to Jesus" meeting a few months ago. Silence and no public comment. Hegseth will try and lie his way out of wrong decisions, but the military won't tolerate it. This will cause Hegseth to be less effective than he has already been and eventually a liability to Trump. (Like Patel) I can see Trump firing Hegseth and replacing hime with a Newsmax host. He won't want a person with a strong military leadership background as they would show Trump up. Something Jack has pointed out Trump can't tolerate.
Again, excellent analysis.