Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was dragged Tuesday over appearing at a cabinet meeting with a misspelled name placard, a misspelling that some critics alleged to be an intentional “wink at Nazis.”
Hegseth was seated next to President Donald Trump during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting in the White House, although his name placard stood out from those of other top officials attending the meeting. Hegseth’s name was spelled correctly, but his title – “secretary of war” – included an extra “s” in the word “secretary.”
The typo, some alleged, could be a direct reference to the Schutzstaffel – the Nazi paramilitary organization often stylized as “SS,” which included the Waffen-SS and the Allgemeine SS, two groups known for committing some of the worst atrocities of World War II, having been tasked with enforcing Nazi Germany’s racial policy.
“They like to wink at Nazis,” wrote Rolling Stone contributor Lauren Windsor in a social media post on X Tuesday.
“Is this real?” asked another, Peter Rothpletz, a columnist and contributor at major news outlets like The New York Times and The Guardian, in a social media post on X Tuesday.
The apparent typo comes just days after the Department of Labor came under fire after publishing an image that critics labeled as a “Nazi dog whistle.” That image featured the Lincoln Memorial statue with 11 stars dotted around the statue’s head, which some believed referenced the 11 states of the Confederacy, and text written with Fraktur font, which was commonly used in the early Nazi period in Germany until 1941.
“I mean the DoL posted this,” wrote X user “Lib Dunk,” a political commentator who’s amassed more than 2,000 followers. “This admin is openly espousing their support for Nazi Germany!”
Political journalist Sam Stein, who first highlighted Hegseth’s name placard typo, responded to the apparent typo with one word: “cmon,” he wrote in a social media post on X.
they like to wink at nazis — Lauren Windsor (@lawindsor) December 2, 2025
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