Political analysts and observers were outraged on Sunday after The Washington Post uncovered a MAGA influence operation being conducted inside the Pentagon.
The Post reported, citing people familiar with the operation, that the Pentagon hired several MAGA influencers as employees to amplify Pete Hegseth’s viewpoints and to “attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration.” Two of the hires mentioned in the report are Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel with more than 135,000 followers on X, and Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel with nearly 620,000 followers on X.
“Neither the Pentagon nor those involved have disclosed the government roles despite the Trump administration’s claims that they are running the most transparent Defense Department ever,” the report reads in part.
The report stunned political analysts and observers, who shared their reactions online.
“This is just a roundabout way to use taxpayer money to pay for psyops against taxpayers,” Jim Stewartson, a political writer who recently defeated a defamation lawsuit filed by FBI Director Kash Patel, posted on X. “This is illegal and desperate. This Pentagon is a paranoid, dysfunctional disaster. We are so screwed if we face any serious external challenge right now.”
“So now both the DoD AND Russia are hiring right-wing influencers to run malign influence operations against America. Great,” Terry Virts, a former NASA astronaut, posted on X.
“Gross,” Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, posted on X.
“Another element of Hegseth’s expanding propaganda machine is finally exposed,” Paul Rieckhoff, host of the “Independent Americans” political podcast, posted on X.
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