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He wears his world view on his body: Pete Hegseth’s tattoos are martial: weapons, swords and symbols of the crusaders. And they’ve gotten him in trouble before.
Jerusalem cross and weapons: Pete Hegseth wears his world view on his body.
Peter Hegseth / Instagram
The tattoo makes the man. It is jewelry, symbol and confession. A particularly clear confession from Pete Hegseth. Just a few years ago, the long-time Fox News host and Trump’s Defense Secretary-designate began tattooing himself. He recently stated this. But he did it thoroughly. And he chose a meaningful symbolism for the rich program of images that he had engraved on his body: He himself describes the interplay of symbols and lettering that adorn his athletic body as “God and country”.
The family man from Minnesota freely posts pictures of it on his Instagram account. The symbolism speaks for itself. Country, of course, is the United States. “We the People” is written on Hegseth’s right forearm, and above it in Roman numerals is “MDCCLXXV” – 1775, the year the Revolutionary War began. The coat of arms of the army unit in which the ex-major of the US armed forces served, including in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, is emblazoned on the shoulder. Below it is an American flag, the bottom stripes of which merge into an AR-15 rifle.
“God wants it!”
The “country” area is dealt with martially. When it comes to God, however, Hegseth is no less combative. On the inside of the right forearm there is a sword surrounded by a cross. As a visual implementation of the passage in the Gospel of Matthew where it says: “I have not come to bring peace, but the sword.” A sentence that is astonishing for the New Testament and is difficult to understand outside of its context. He wants to say that love for Jesus must be above all else. How Hegseth understands him becomes clear when you move from the right forearm towards the upper arm.
“Deus Vult” can be read there in Fraktur script. “God willing,” in impeccable Latin. “Deus vult” or “Deus lo vult” is the battle cry that the crowds ready for war are said to have chanted after Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade at the Synod of Clermont in November 1095. He called for the holy places in Jerusalem to be freed from occupation by the infidels and reclaimed for Christianity.
The extensive tattoo on Pete Hegseth’s right chest also belongs in the world of the medieval crusades: a cross, but not just any: an isosceles cross, with a small cross in each of its four corners. The so-called Jerusalem Cross, the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which was proclaimed by the Crusaders in 1099 after the conquest of Jerusalem.
Security risk
The Jerusalem Cross was seen as a symbol of the martyrdom of Jesus Christ, but also as an expression of the will to die for Christianity. Today it’s on Georgia’s flag, but that’s hardly what Hegseth is concerned about. For him, the Crusader slogan and the Jerusalem Cross represent a faith that sees itself primarily as an unconditional fight against all enemies of Christianity.
Pete Hegseth is not the only one who cultivates this martial symbolism. The battle cry “Deus lo vult” has been part of the alt-right movement’s repertoire for some time. When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election, he served as a sort of identifying symbol among far-right Trump supporters.
Symbols are symbols. But for Pete Hegseth they seem to be more than that. His book, published four years ago, is entitled “American Crusade” – “Crusade for America” – and compares the fight of the medieval crusaders against the Muslims with the fight of today’s “American Crusaders” against the Islamists.
At one point, the tattoos got the future security minister into trouble. When Joe Biden was sworn in in 2021, Pete Hegseth was deployed in a National Guard unit to protect the ceremony, but was then recalled. He said in a podcast that he was classified as a potential security risk because of his tattoos.
How might Pete Hegseth’s tattoos reflect broader cultural or political sentiments in contemporary society?
1. What is the meaning behind Pete Hegseth’s extensive tattoo collection, which features symbols such as the “Jerusalem Cross” and “Deus Vult”?
2. How does Hegseth’s interpretation of faith influence his worldview and political stance?
3. Why do you think tattoos have become increasingly popular as a form of self-expression, particularly among public figures like Hegseth?
4. Is there a danger in using symbols like the “Jerusalem Cross” and “Deus Vult” to promote one’s beliefs, and if so, what are the potential consequences?
5. In your opinion, what role do symbols play in today’s society, and how can they be used responsibly?
