Pete Hegseth Rolls Up His Sleeves—Again and Again and Again

Pete Hegseth tattoos
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters

Pete Hegseth has been rolling up his sleeves—literally—since being sworn in as President Donald Trump’s new defense secretary.

On a visit to the southern border Monday, the former Fox News host kept his forearms uncovered, showing off multiple tattoos as he met military personnel. The bare-arm look is one he’s repeatedly gone for since taking office—an interesting choice from a member of a Cabinet who is seemingly trying to make a point with public sartorial choices.

Hegseth shared images in an X post Tuesday that he said showed him receiving a briefing from the leaders of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for defending the continental United States. The first image in the post—which mistakenly tagged an account which has not posted in over a decade instead of the account belonging to the North American Aerospace Defense Command—clearly showed part of Hegseth’s “We the People” tattoo on his right forearm.

Hegseth’s tattoos—which variously express patriotic and religious sentiments—have previously come under scrutiny, including in the U.S. military.

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The Army National Guard veteran has previously told Fox News his District of Columbia unit stopped him from guarding Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021 because “members of my unit in leadership deemed that I was an extremist or a white nationalist because of a tattoo I have,” a Jerusalem cross on his chest.

He’s also defended the design as “just a Christian symbol” but said had been used by someone in the Guard to unfairly paint him as a “potential threat.”

A fellow Guard member who was the unit’s security manager later gave the Associated Press an email they’d sent to commanding officers flagging Hegseth as a potential “Inside Threat” because of another of his tattoos—the words “Deus Vult,” a Latin phrase meaning “God wills it,” on his right bicep. The Guard member making the complaint highlighted the phrase’s association with white supremacists who invoke the Christian crusades to express anti-Muslim sentiments.

Hegseth and White House Border Czar Tom Homan meet with U.S. military personnel during a visit to the border. / Jose Luis Gonzalez / REUTERS
Hegseth and White House Border Czar Tom Homan meet with U.S. military personnel during a visit to the border. / Jose Luis Gonzalez / REUTERS

Hegseth, who ended his book American Crusade with the words “Deus Vult,” also has a tattoo on his forearm of a sword referencing a Bible passage in which Jesus says: “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” His other tattoos include an AR-15 underneath an American flag on his bicep and the “Join or Die” divided snake cartoon published by Benjamin Franklin on his right forearm.

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Only a small part of Hegseth’s “We the People” tattoo was visible during his confirmation hearing last month—during which he again defended his Jerusalem cross ink as a “historic Christian symbol.

Since then, however, they’ve been regularly on display.

In a video published on the Department of Defense X account last week, Hegseth appeared with his sleeves rolled up as he provided an update Trump’s plans to use Guantanamo Bay in his plans to deport undocumented migrants. He also spoke about the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter that killed 67 people in Washington, D.C.

Hegseth continued to stick with the forearms-out look during his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday alongside Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar.