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The Conversation
The Conversation
Casey Ryan Kelly, Professor of Communication Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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

Pete Hegseth MAGA Donald Trump James Mattis Islamic State Iran America
Secretary 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 “get the strategy right” while maintaining “the rules of engagement” to “protect the innocent.”

Mattis’ professional tone was a stark contrast to Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remarks following the first days of the joint U.S.-Israeli combat operations in Iran.

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