Mueller: Pete Hegseth and Trump allies normalize violent rhetoric and glorify lethal force
Mar 23rd 2026 · United States
In a Guardian US column Jan-Werner Mueller contends that Pete Hegseth and allied figures in the Trump orbit are promoting a culture that celebrates lethal force, uses graphic imagery as propaganda, and risks normalizing unlawful violence.
- Jan-Werner Mueller argues Pete Hegseth and media allies publicly celebrate killing and have announced future war crimes on live television.
- Mueller says members of the Trump administration are rewarded for endorsing violence rather than restrained by an axis of experienced officials.
- The column cites Markwayne Mullin’s past threat to fight a witness and his refusal to apologize for endorsing an assault on Senator Rand Paul as examples.
- Mueller alleges the White House uses graphic footage of strikes on Iran as propaganda and prioritizes spectacle over strategic justification.
- The column claims Trump has turned repatriation of US war dead into political theater and fundraising opportunities.
- Mueller warns this rhetoric echoes historical movements that glorified death and could help normalize unlawful or illegal warfare.
Articles
- ‘Extremely ugly’: Maga media figures squabble among themselves over Trump’s Iran war www.theguardian.com
- ‘He could be manipulating the markets’: Former Trump adviser on the president saying Iran war could be over soon www.cnn.com
- Pete Hegseth is promoting a nihilist cult of death | Jan-Werner Mueller www.theguardian.com