Hegseth has written multiple books describing is conspiracy theories that the US is ruled by a Communist conspiracy launched by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin and which is now embodied in the Democratic Party, writes Jonathan Chait at The Atlantic.

He believes officers who obeyed orders from Obama and Biden — in other words, officers who did their sworn duty to obey the lawful orders of their commander-in-chief — are traitors who should be dealt with accordingly.

He believes Democrats are traitors who should be overthrown by any means necessary, and he makes no exemptions for any Democrat (including me!).

Chait:

A defense secretary with a tenuous grip on reality, who can’t differentiate foreign enemies from domestic political opponents, and who seems to exist in a state of permanent hysteria is a problem that the United States has never had to survive. The main question I was looking to answer when I started reading Hegseth’s collected works was whether he would follow a Trump command to shoot peaceful protesters. After having read them, I don’t think he would even wait for the order.