Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) explained the vital role that women play in combat and how Trump’s defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth would weaken the US.
Duckworth who is a combat veteran who lost both of her legs in combat, said on CNN:
He’s wrong, because the women have made us more effective. In fact, our military could not go to war without its 223, 000 women who serve in uniform.
We would have an ineffective military. A military that was not capable of deployment. If we were to pull out all the women and say, you cannot be in combat for those women who are in roles such as the infantry or Navy seals. Those women have met the same standards as the men in order to be assigned to those positions.
So again, this shows that Mr. Hegseth is not qualified for the position because he doesn’t understand. Apparently, even after having served that women are actually vitally important. To an effective military. And with the recruiting challenges we’re having right now, if we were to pull all those women out and say, you can’t go into combat we would say, face a severe personnel crisis in the military.
Video:
Combat vet, Sen. Tammy Duckworth on why Pete Hegseth is wrong about women in the military, “Our military could not go to war without its 223, 000 women who serve. We would have an ineffective military. Military that was not capable of deployment.” pic.twitter.com/oRLXnuqvuE
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 24, 2024
Duckworth is right. The military is already facing a recruiting crisis, and Hegseth’s backward and sexist ideas will only make things worse. Sen. Duckworth sacrificed herself for our nation in Iraq, and for women like her to be told that they are unfit for combat is the ultimate insult.
In the bigger picture, Hegseth’s views are an example of how Trump’s dream is to take the country back to a time when white men dominated the nation. From deporting immigrants to destroying the rights of women, the United States is going to have to fight against antiquated ideas of racism and sexism that many hoped were buried in the past.
Hegseth, the alleged sexual assaulter, is the exact wrong person to lead the military.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association