Michael O'Hanlon
ON THE RECORD · 7 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“We haven’t had a TV talkshow star with a strong partisan and cultural agenda wind up as secretary of defense,”
Michael O'Hanlon · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
O'Hanlon noted the US has not previously had a TV talkshow star with a partisan agenda as defense secretary.
“not going to wind up leaving a major mark”
Michael O'Hanlon · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
O'Hanlon predicted Hegseth will not leave a major mark as defense secretary.
“There may be some echoes of previous secretaries, but the political and culture stuff is Pete Hegseth through and through.”
Michael O'Hanlon · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
O'Hanlon said the political and culture focus is characteristic of Pete Hegseth.
“He’s going to wind up being known as the guy who fought Trump’s culture wars for him – and maybe failed to help Trump stay out of trouble in the Iran war, depending on how bad that gets.”
Michael O'Hanlon · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
O'Hanlon predicted Hegseth will be known for fighting Trump's culture wars and possibly failing on the Iran war.
“I do not think there's any great evidence that Putin is closer to doing a deal. I hope President Trump's right, but I haven't seen proof yet.”
Michael O'Hanlon · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-07
O'Hanlon told CNBC he does not see evidence that Putin is closer to making a deal.
“I can imagine so many issues where this could go wrong,”
Michael O'Hanlon · said 2026-07-06 · reported 2026-07-07
O'Hanlon gave a preview of the NATO summit in an interview with CNBC's The Exchange on Monday.
“I don't expect great things, but even incremental progress and no blow-up would be welcome,”
Michael O'Hanlon · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-07
O'Hanlon expressed tempered expectations for the NATO summit outcome.