Pete Hegseth vows to ‘take politics out of ship naming’ - by making a political decision

US defense secretary Pete Hegseth, of Signal scandal infamy, declared on Friday that the Trump administration is “taking the politics out of ship naming” – only to take a political decision by renaming the US Navy vessel USNS Harvey Milk to Oscar V. Peterson, removing its link to a famous and influential gay rights activist.

In a video posted on Twitter/X, the politician – who has already made headlines this week for attacking the media over its reporting on US airstrikes on Iran – insisted the US Department of the Navy was not renaming the ship to “anything political”.

“This is not about political activists – unlike the previous administration. Instead, we’re renaming the ship after a United States Navy Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

“As it should be. People want to be proud of the ship they’re sailing in, and so we’re renaming it after a chief – a navy chief,” he said.

At this point, it’s probably worth explaining…

Who was Harvey Milk?

The Harvey Milk Foundation, established by his nephew Stuart Milk and his campaign manager Anne Kronenberg, probably describes the late activist best.

They note he “became one of the first openly elected gay officials” in the US when he was elected to the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco in 1977.

The foundation states: “Milk’s unprecedented loud and unapologetic proclamation of his authenticity as an openly gay candidate for public office, and his subsequent election gave never before experienced hope to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people everywhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination.”

He was assassinated in 1978.

Indy100 has reached out to the Harvey Milk Foundation for comment on Hegseth’s decision.

Who was Oscar V. Peterson?

According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s entry on Peterson, the chief wartender received the award “for extraordinary courage and conspicuous heroism above and beyond the call of duty” when he closed the bulkhead stop valves on the USS Neosho in the Second World War while severely wounded, receiving burns to his body which ultimately caused his death.

Peterson was in charge of a repair party who also received injuries as a result of an aerial attack by Japanese forces on 7 May 1942. He received the medal of honor posthumously.

How has Twitter/X reacted?

The move by the US defense secretary has seen him branded “pathetically insecure” and an “embarrassment”:

One sarcastically replied that focussing on the name of ships was “all the important stuff”:

And another noted Hegseth took the decision towards the end of Pride Month:

But above all, many pointed out that a US government official renaming an American Navy vessel to remove its connection to a gay rights activist is political:

Of course, it’s not the first time Donald Trump’s administration has received criticism over a name change, as the Republican also sparked ridicule earlier this year when he decided to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Why not read…

• 'How is this real?' White House posts video calling Trump 'Daddy'
• Trump ridiculed after calling someone a 'very average mentally person'

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