On March 2, 2026, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins brought on a Democrat to lie and trash Republicans like she always does. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) dismissed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Vice President Vance as unqualified, saying “these guys don’t know what they’re doing” and calling them “amateurs,” while singling out Hegseth as “a talk show host” who lacks the competence to manage serious military action—especially something as sensitive as a targeted strike or as complex as a broader conflict in the Middle East.
Kaitlan Collins asked:
“Both Secretary Hegseth and Vice President Vance have said the President is not going to get entangled in some never-ending war that lasts twenty years. Do you trust those assurances that you’ve heard from them?”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) replied:
“No, absolutely not. I mean, listen, these guys don’t know what they’re doing. I mean, these are amateurs. Pete Hegseth is a talk show host, um, who’s running the Department of Defense right now. He has no concept of how to carry out a targeted attack, never mind a complicated war in the Middle East.”
Murphy’s dismissive rhetoric couldn’t be further from the truth, because both Secretary Hegseth and Vice President Vance bring real military experience to their roles. That is exactly why President Trump chose them. To say they are amateurs with no concept of how to carry out a targeted attack—or a complicated war in the Middle East—is a huge lie. Can a Senator really be this ignorant about the Defense Secretary and Vice President?
Pete Hegseth’s military career spans 18 years of service in the U.S. Army/Army National Guard across three service periods (2003–2006, 2010–2014, 2019–2021). He was commissioned as an infantry officer after graduating from Princeton University, earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School, rose to the rank of Major, and built real combat credentials through deployments that directly refute Murphy’s smear that he’s just a talk show host.
Hegseth’s deployments included Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where he led soldiers on security missions connected to detainee operations. He also deployed to Iraq, where he served in leadership roles during hard phases of the war—work that involved real-world operational planning, working in dangerous environments, and dealing directly with insurgent threats. And he served in Afghanistan in a training role focused on counterinsurgency, working with allied forces and applying battlefield lessons to how troops were prepared for the fight.
Those tours earned Hegseth major recognition, including two Bronze Star Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge (proof of direct ground combat against the enemy, awarded only to infantry soldiers who have engaged in active combat), the Expert Infantryman Badge, and multiple commendations. And yes—after serving, he became a veteran advocate and later a Fox News contributor and co-host on Fox & Friends Weekend. But calling him “a talk show host” like that’s all he is is dishonest. The TV career came after the war zones.
Vice President JD Vance also served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007, rising to the rank of Corporal and deploying to Iraq with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing as a combat correspondent (a Marine whose job put him in the environment of a real war, not a studio). He earned awards including the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, then went on to build a serious civilian career—graduating from Ohio State, earning a law degree from Yale Law School, working in law and business, serving as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and now serving as Vice President.
Murphy calls them “amateurs,” yet he has zero military service himself. Hegseth and Vance served in the wars Murphy only discusses from the Senate floor and on fake news outlets. Their frontline experience—combined with strong educations and real civilian leadership—is precisely why Trump chose them. He deliberately surrounds himself with proven veterans who’ve been in combat so that war decisions come from actual experience.
Smearing two decorated veterans as clueless “amateurs” who have “no concept” of war isn’t honest criticism—it’s a cheap, dishonest hit job. Americans are fed up with politicians who lie on camera, rewrite history, and talk down to the people who actually served.
The real amateurs with “no concept” of how to carry out a targeted attack—never mind a complicated war in the Middle East—are sitting in Congress: Chris Murphy himself, Hakeem Jeffries, AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Chuck Schumer, and so many more, who have zero military experience yet lecture the country on war every day.
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