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I’ve studied MAGA rhetoric for a decade, and this is what I see in Hegseth’s boasts, action-movie one-liners and gloating over dominance

  • Written by Casey Ryan Kelly, Professor of Communication Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
imageSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth responds to questions about the Iran war in a March 2, 2026, press conference.Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

When Secretary of Defense James Mattis addressed the intensification of U.S. combat operations against the Islamic State group in 2017, he assured the American public of his commitment to...

Read more: I’ve studied MAGA rhetoric for a decade, and this is what I see in Hegseth’s boasts, action-movie...

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