Politics

Future President, Donald Trump, is beginning to announce a number of appointments to his administration, and some of the names are quite surprising to Europeans, to say the least.

Trump has surrounded himself with loyalists, not exactly renowned for their management skills, but rather for their trenchant positions.

The big surprise is the appointment of Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News anchor who is announced as Secretary of Defense and therefore in charge of the Pentagon. This infantry officer was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He later joined Fox News.

At 44, he's now in charge of the world's largest army, with a budget of $880 billion. It's a choice that comes as a surprise in Washington, even on the Republican side.

Paul Rieckhoff, founder of the group Independent Veterans of America, writes on X: “He's without a doubt the least qualified candidate for Secretary of Defense in American history."

The same is true of Canada, where the appointment is a cause for concern. For Richard Blanchette, a senior military officer who has worked with NATO:

“What strikes me about his CV is the lack of experience. We can't understand how this appointment came about, it's really worrying to see this appointment for the impact it could have on our alliance and on NATO.”

(MH with D. Rodriguez/Source: Agence/Photo: DPA/ Newscom | ALLISON ROBBERT)