Fox News Pete Hegseth Has Several Tattoos: Here's What Each of Them Means

The news that Donald Trump will be nominating Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth to be his Secretary of Defense was one of the most surprising announcements about who will be staffing his administration. Following the news that Hegseth would be in charge of one of the world's biggest organizations, many wanted to know more about Hegseth and what might qualify him for the job.

Among the many quirks and interesting beliefs that Hegseth has espoused over his time in the spotlight, some people are focused on the host's many tattoos. Here's what we know about what his tattoos are of, and what each of them means.

According to an interview in Big Lead, Hegseth's love of body art dates all the way back to high school. "I always wanted tattoos. Thankfully, my father dissuaded me early in life because what I wanted out of high school was a basketball hoop with a flaming basketball going through the hoop," he explained. "All I cared about was basketball, I played basketball in college, my dad was a basketball coach."

Instead of getting a tattoo when he was still a kid, Hegseth only got his first tattoo a few years ago while he was on vacation.

Although pictures reveal that Hegseth has tattoos across much of his chest and arms, a few of his tattoos are more distinctive than the rest, and have caused controversy throughout his public life.

"Deus Volt" is inscribed on Hegseth's right arm, and the Latin phrase may be obscure to some. It means "God will it," and it originated during the Crusade as a battle cry. In more recent years, the phrase has been adopted by far-right groups, and seems to suggest that America should be an explicitly Christian nation. "Deus Volt" is not the only signal of Hegseth's beliefs scrawled on his body.

Another symbol on Hegseth's body is the Jerusalem Cross on his chest, which is one big cross surrounded by smaller crosses. The Jerusalem Cross is another symbol that dates back to the Crusades and is another symbol that has been linked to Christian nationalism and far-right groups in the 21st century.

In addition to these distinctive tattoos, Hegseth has other tattoos that reveal his nationalism and his far-right beliefs.

He has "We the People" on one of his arms, an American flag that features a machine gun on his upper arm, as well as the year 1775 in Roman numerals.

In addition to those, Pete also has the "Join or Die" symbol on his inner forearm, and an Infantry Regiment patch on his arm.

On the whole, Hegseth's tattoos reflect his love for America and the revolution, and his apparent belief that America should be a Christian nation. In fact, he doesn't seem to have a single tattoo that reflects anything else.