Useful Idiots

Useful Idiots

“No More Beardos”: Hegseth’s New ‘Professional’ Military Standards Just Dropped

Plus, watching Max Blumenthal take down Alan Dershowitz

Aaron Maté's avatar
Katie Halper's avatar
Aaron Maté
and
Katie Halper
Oct 02, 2025
∙ Paid
3
Share

“Today, at my direction, the era of unprofessional appearance is over,” said Secretary of Defense War Pete Hegseth, who forced generals from around the world to fly to Quantico to listen to him speak.

“No more beardos. The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done. If you do not meet the male-level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a PT test, or don’t want to shave and look professional, it’s time for a new position. Or a new profession.”

Two things on that:

First is that the subtext of this statement is embedded in a racism that has pervaded the US military’s history: being clean shaven can be medically more irritating to some skin types than others, often causing a folliculitis in Black skin. The right to not shave as a military member allows people of all skin types to join, which means, according to members of the armed forces themselves, that this new order is aimed at pushing out Black people from service.

Second thing: you’re saying this, Pete?? The guy who somehow has a whole back catalog of ridiculous and unprofessional looks, whose body is littered with tattoos that make him, and we’re quoting X-user Omar El-Ayat here, “look like he flunked out of Aryan Brotherhood MC tryouts”??

A shirtless man with multiple tattoos on his torso and arms, including a cross on his chest, an American flag, and text reading "Deus Vult" and "We the People." Additional tattoos show symbols like a shield with vertical lines and a crest with Latin text "Ne Desit Virtus." Numbers 1 to 5 are visible, labeling different tattoo areas.

Yeah, the military really needs to be more professional:

Steve Schmidt on X: "“Pete Hegseth is a clown, but he is a venomous one.  What he stands for is un-American, extreme, and ultimately, a profound evil  which is made worse because

But that’s not all Hegseth’s got in this week’s Thursday Throwdown. In fact, that one’s wayyy tamer than the other thing he said at Quantico:

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Useful Idiots to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Matt Taibbi
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture