Pete Hegseth gets totally dragged after revealing new name for Harvey Milk ship

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom quotes Harvey Milk to mark Pride Month.

Mark Mark
Jun 30, 2025 - 20:00
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Pete Hegseth and Harvey Milk
Pete Hegseth and Harvey Milk (Photo: Shutterstock/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a video Friday revealing the new name for a navy oil ship previously named after Harvey Milk.

Hegseth announced at the start of Pride Month that the USNS Harvey Milk was to be renamed. Military.com first reported the news, saying the decision to act during Pride Month was intentional.

The first out-gay man elected to political office in California, Milk—a former Navy veteran—was murdered by a disgruntled colleague in 1978.

Politics, but make it gay!

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In a video posted Friday, Hegseth said the USNS Harvey Milk will now be known as the USNS Oscar V. Peterson. Peterson was a WWII hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

In a video on X, Hegseth claimed, “We are taking the politics out of ship-naming. We’re not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration.”

He went on to recount some of Peterson’s achievements.

Political move

Hegseth’s video received praise from some people but others mocked it. Nobody doubts Peterson was a hero, but many felt that dropping the Harvey Milk name, during Pride Month, was a blatant political move.

The renaming was also criticized by Harvey Milk’s nephew, Stuart. On Instagram, the gay activist called the move, “Petty and dishonest … We may have lost a back door battle to stop this misguided action but I thank you all for having been a part of celebrating the ship’s, albeit brief, legacy – the USNS Harvey Milk’s symbol of hope, having existed at all, will live on in hearts & minds of millions across the globe!”

When news first broke that Hegseth planned to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, among those to react was actor Sean Penn. He played Milk in the movie of the same name. The 64-year-old Oscar-winner told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’ve never before seen a Secretary of Defense so aggressively demote himself to the rank of Chief PETTY Officer.”

It seems the “petty” Pete epithet may stick.

Gavin Newsom

While Hegseth was attempting to erase Harvey Milk’s name from naval history, California Governor Gavin Newsom was doing the opposite. On Thursday, Newsom quoted Harvey Milk in a Pride Month video, alongside his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

“This Pride Month, we’re reminded of Harvey Milk’s immortal call that ‘hope will never be silent.’

“Hard-won LGBTQ rights” are under threat, “fueled by attempts to sow division and hatred.

“Make no mistake: California is proud of who you are.”

Anderson Cooper

Last week Hegseth again made headlines for all the wrong reasons. He turned on reporters during a briefing, accusing them of spreading false information about recent US military missions in the Middle East.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper masterfully took Hegseth to task for his performance during that press conference.

“A number of the claims he [Hegseth] made about the reporting were not accurate,” Anderson informed his audience. He then played a montage of videos juxtaposing Hegseth’s claims with those reported by CNN.

Related

Harvey Milk’s gay nephew slams Pete Hegseth’s attempt to trash his uncle during Pride Month
And ‘Milk’ screenwriter Dustin Lance Black also had something to say.

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