U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was mocked for proudly donning patriotic suits that were ironically manufactured in Thailand.
Conservative political commentator Benny Johnson shared a video of Hegseth proudly demonstrating his “three flag rule,” a personal standard requiring him to wear at least three American flag-themed items at all times. In the clip, Hegseth showed off a lapel pin, belt, tie, socks, and the lining of his suit jacket, all emblazoned with the Stars and Stripes.
“I’m really proud these guys are running our Military,” Johnson wrote in an X post accompanied by the clip.
Social media users were not so fond of the Trump official’s patriotic display. Derek Guy, who is known as “the menswear guy” on X, formerly known as Twitter, lambasted Hegseth for purchasing his patriotic suits from a company that manufactures its products in Thailand.
“This suit appears to be from Book A Tailor, a company that produces its clothes in Thailand,” Guy wrote in an X post shared Tuesday. “Instead of covering yourself in USA flags, would you be interested in supporting US tailoring shops that employ US cutters and coatmakers?” he added, offering to help “for a fee.”
In his post, Guy shared a clip of Hegseth promoting a Book A Tailor suit during an episode of Fox & Friends Weekend, which he co-hosted alongside Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earhardt from 2017 until 2024. Hegseth told his co-stars the company does a “nice job.”
“You order. Put all your things in. They’ll send you a suit. It’s pretty cool,” Hegseth said.
The menswear guy doubled down on his rant against Hegseth, expressing surprise at “how many wealthy people get crappy clothes for free in exchange for promotion, when they could patron a quality clothier and get good clothes by paying money instead of humiliating themselves through shilling.”
“A $5,000 bespoke suit is probably nothing to you if you’re a millionaire, just as a $5 chocolate bar is nothing to me,” Guy wrote. “I wouldn’t shill for crappy $2 chocolate bar when I’m perfectly capable of buying the chocolate I want.”
Social media users echoed the fashion guru’s criticism of Hegseth’s sartorial choices, with one commenting, “Nothing says ‘America’ like overseas labor.”
Nothing says “America” more than overseas labour.
— mayankites2 (@mayankites2) May 27, 2025
Guy added that he believed Hegseth was “virtue signaling” because “wearing a US flag as a lining signals patriotism, but buying US-made clothes from US cutters and tailors actually supports US jobs, which is more substantive.”
Originally published on Latin Times
