Cosplay Presidency

I was listening to the Josh Marshall podcast this morning, and co-host Kate Riga noted that Hegseth’s attitude and overall presence on the Signal chat was sort of like a cosplayer, a pretender, someone who wasn’t really up to snuff to serve but enjoys all the signs and signals of military service. He’s like a “tacticool” bro who can’t quite believe that he’s playing with the big boys.

Marshall also noted that the Chair of the Joint Chiefs should have been participating in this, but I’m guessing that even Trump’s pick for the spot is smart enough to stay off of an insecure chat conversation populated by dumb dumbs. It was Hegseth who put the most classified intel into the chat. I’m sure that the staff in the upper echelons of the Pentagon already recognize that this guy is a career ender and they’re routing around him as danger. CBS News is reporting [video] “frustration” and “embarrassment” from Pentagon staff.

Hegseth is one brand of cosplayer, the bro with the anti-muslim tats who likes to do photo ops with SEALs, a branch that a ROTC Army officer like him can only dream about joining. (No shade on ROTC trained officers, btw, Hegseth is clearly an exceptionally bad

Kristi Noem is another Trump administration cosplayer. She likes to put on tactical gear and endanger innocents by going on ICE raids.

This is her latest, an appearance at the gulag where the accused gang members, which for ICE means people with tattoos, are rendered without due process. It’s a disgusting picture with an awful message, but she’s clearly in her element.

What cosplayers don’t understand is that it might be fun to imitate a bad guy at a comicon, but that’s just dress up and playing around. Now, both of these cosplayers have committed crimes that should get them in trouble in a sane world. Perhaps someday, when a truth and reconciliation commission meets, they will face some consequences. Until then, they’re enjoying dressing up and being on TV.