Pete Hegseth has been sidelining women of colour in the US military and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s response just totally nailed it
To no-one’s great surprise anywhere, American secretary of defence, sorry, war Pete Hegseth has been accused of sidelining women and people of colour in the top ranks of the American military.
The New York Times reported, just in case you missed it, that a disproportionate number of women and people of colour had been denied promotions or removed from their positions under Hegseth, including Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the US Navy, whom Hegseth fired early last year.
We mention all this – we’re getting there, honest – because the estimable Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked about it and not for the first time she totally and utterly nailed it.
PabloReports: What do you make of Pete Hegseth refusing to promote qualified women of color?
AOC: He’s an unqualified man in his role, so of course he’s threatened by women who are twice as good as he is. pic.twitter.com/5ZUBG2Olqc
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 22, 2026
Boom.
She’s right about that. He’s not qualified and feels threatened by those who are.
— Random Voter (@Randomvoter99) July 22, 2026
Twice? She was too generous in her calculations.
— Karmann GhiaDiego (@BpChiefy) July 22, 2026
A perfect answer. https://t.co/8Cfygzc3ny
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) July 22, 2026
AOC is right about the power dynamic: insecure, underqualified men often treat exceptional women—especially women of color—not as assets, but as threats. Hegseth’s record should be judged by whom he advances, whom he sidelines, and whether merit is being replaced by ideology,…
— Lucky Mendez (@lucky_mendez3) July 22, 2026
I think she is underestimating. A woman would have to be completely incompetent to only be twice as good as Hegseth. The average high-school girl is already three times as good as Pete.
— JD Adams (@IgorForHire) July 22, 2026
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Source @Acyn