Guardian Hegseth Smear Proves Media Are Theologically Illiterate

Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s secretary of defense pick, was confirmed on Friday by a Senate vote of 51-50. But in the weeks leading up to his confirmation, he faced a smear campaign peddled by a propaganda press eager to undermine and distract from his qualifications for the role. 

Yet another attempt to drag Hegseth’s name through the mud came the morning before the Senate vote when The Guardian decided to play the role of theological scholar under the misleadingly doomerist headline: “Revealed: Trump Pentagon nominee endorsed extremist Christian doctrine on podcast.”

In the article, The Guardian’s Jason Wilson claims that in “recordings” — which were, as Wilson himself notes, published almost a year ago  — “Hegseth rails against ‘cultural Marxism,’ feminism, ‘critical race theory,’ and even democracy itself.” Wilson also notes how Hegseth, “for much of the over five hours of recordings,” “castigate[d] public schools” for pushing radical ideology on children. (So far, this sounds similar to most conservative Christians who consider God’s Word inerrant.)

Notably, Wilson waits until the 14th paragraph to note that the podcast series in question was “recorded for Pilgrim Hill’s Reformation Red Pill show,” which is hosted by a pastoral intern for the church Hegseth attends in Tennessee. Released ten months ago — long before Hegseth was tapped by Trump to lead the Pentagon — the episodes featuring the now-defense secretary largely focused on his 2022 book co-authored by David Goodwin, Battle for the American Mind. According to the show notes from the first episode in the series, host “Joshua Haymes and [then] Fox News Host Pete Hegseth discuss[ed] the desperate need for Christians to ensure that their children receive a Christian education.” 

The Guardian hit piece claims Hegseth “expresses agreement” with the “theocratic and authoritarian doctrine of ‘sphere sovereignty,’” which Wilson defines as “a worldview derived from the extremist beliefs of Christian reconstructionism … and espoused by churches aligned with [a] far-right Idaho pastor.” 

Wilson seems to largely base his definitions of “sphere sovereignty” and Christian reconstructionism on Julie Ingersoll — “a professor and director of religious studies … who has written extensively about Christian reconstructionism and Christian nationalism,” and therefore must be qualified to judge Hegseth’s personal views.

Sphere sovereignty, as Ingersoll explains to The Guardian, was originally developed by 20th-century Dutch theologians, most notably by Abraham Kuyper. The framework asserts that aspects of human life — family, government, the church, etc. — fall into separate spheres of influence, each with its own hierarchy and structure. These spheres interact with each other, but all of them owe their authority and sovereignty to the rule of God.

“When these guys say they believe in the separation of church and state, they’re being duplicitous. They do believe in separate spheres for church and state, but also in a theocratic authority that sits above both,” Ingersoll told The Guardian. “These folks are not particularly committed to democracy. They’re committed to theocracy.”

The piece also bashes Hegseth for potentially drawing influence from conservative Idaho pastor Doug Wilson, noting how the church Hegseth attends is part of an organization co-founded by Wilson. It also mentions that Hegseth’s co-author, David Goodwin, is “the serving president of the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS),” which is “closely associated with [Doug] Wilson;” Hegseth’s children apparently attend schools “affiliated” with ACCS. The piece also highlights the oh-so-disturbing fact that Hegseth once said he was reading a book Doug Wilson recommended on a podcast. How dangerously extreme of him! 

The view that God is sovereign over all facets of human life and that various areas of life have their own natural limits is not in itself an extremist belief. It is a Christian one, notably present throughout all of Scripture, and among various denominations — not solely in Kuyper’s theological framework. (See Job 38-42, Matthew 10:29-31, and Romans 8:28.)  

But the apparently all-knowing Professor Ingersoll told the outlet that “the version” of sphere sovereignty circulating “in churches influenced by Wilson descends directly from … theocratic Christian reconstructionism.” For The Guardian, Hegseth’s membership at such a church, his alleged affirmation of “aspects” of certain theology, his critique of Marxist ideology in schools, and analysis from random sources are apparently enough to label him an “extremist.”

Despite The Guardian’s lazy efforts to “reveal” the contents of publicly available podcasts, none of these cherry-picked details, irrelevant quotes, or vague connections ultimately prove that Hegseth is a theocrat who is “not particularly committed to democracy.” In contrast, Hegseth submitted to the process of Senate confirmation after he was selected by a president who won the popular vote, including all seven swing states. Such a reality hardly suggests he is “not committed” to the democratic processes laid out in the Constitution.  

This is not the first time in recent weeks Hegseth has been attacked for holding so-called “extreme” Christian beliefs. But the truth is that The Guardian — and the other corrupt, Democrat-run media outlets that have relentlessly smeared Hegseth — never cared one bit about his religious convictions or alleged impropriety. All they cared about was distracting Americans from the qualifications of a nominee who promised — and is now enabled — to enact election-mandated change within a severely floundering government agency. 

While Christians can and should debate and critique the validity of theological frameworks — while they should call out evident arrogance and corruption — they should also promote the beautiful simplicity of the Gospel. And that is exactly what Pete Hegseth has done.

In the face of anonymous, unsubstantiated, and debunked attacks on his character, conduct, and convictions, Hegseth has spoken with humility regarding his leadership — repeatedly coming back to the claim that he is a human redeemed by Christ. This is a testimony to which Americans and Christians from all backgrounds can relate. 

Maisey Jefferson is a staff editor at The Federalist. She graduated from Gordon College in the greater Boston area with a degree in English and Professional Writing. She has previously served as an editorial intern at The Federalist as well as the Editor-in-Chief of the Gordon Review.