Pete Hegseth unwittingly reveals controversial new tattoo

Eagle-eyed observers of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tapestry of tattoos noticed a never-seen-before Arabic script underneath his arm.

Hegseth posted an image of himself doing jumping jacks and push-ups with Navy Seals at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Tuesday.

It comes as he is facing mounting pressure to resign after sharing detailed Yemen strike plans in a group text chat with other Trump officials on the Signal app.

Hegseth has brushed off the controversy, saying that the chat did not include classified information. Now, he is in Guam and Hawaii on a trip to visit U.S. troops.

The new tattoo revealed in the video features the Arabic word ‘kafir,’ which in the Quran means ‘disbeliever’ or ‘infidel’ and is inked below hegseth’s ‘Deus Vult’ tattoo.

The discovery sparked anger from activists who are already infuriated about his tattoos featuring Christian and American images.

‘Hegseth just got a kafir (كافر) tattoo under his Deus Vult tattoo—a Crusader slogan. This isn’t just a personal choice; it’s a clear symbol of Islamophobia from the man overseeing U.S. wars,’ wrote Nerdeen Kiswani, a pro-Palestinian activist in New York City on social media.

Kiswani described the tattoos as the ‘normalization of Islamophobia at the highest levels of power.

Others on social media felt similarly about the tattoo.

‘The كافر/kafir tattoo in the Quran means disbeliever,’ wrote writer Tam Hussein on X. ‘To the Muslim world the tattoo will be seen as an open declaration of Hegseth’s enmity towards them.’

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth trains with Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Sailors revealing a tattoo

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth works out with service members in Hawaii

Others defended the tattoo as a common word used by veterans of Middle Eastern wars.

‘This word is widely recognized among military veterans, especially those who served in the Middle East, as a symbol of defiance against Islamic terrorists,’ wrote X user ‘Brother Rachid.’ ‘It’s commonly seen on stickers, the backs of trucks, T-shirts, and mugs. Personally, I had it on a hat, a mug, and even on the door of my office.’

‘Muslims should not be offended or shocked at Pete Hegseth’s new ‘kafir’ tattoo or his crusader ‘Deus Vult’ tattoo,’ wrote X user Dilly Hussain of a UK-based news site 5 Pillars UK. ‘He’s merely displaying America’s foreign policy and mindset to Islam and Muslims.’

It is unclear whether the tattoo is new, as it is inked underneath his arm where it may simply have not been noticed before.

The Department of Defense did not respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.

The veteran, who served tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq and is a double Bronze Star holder, has a total of over a dozen tattoos across his right arm and chest.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after meetings at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickman, Hawaii.

His chest tattoo of a Jerusalem Cross previously sparked controversy after he was nominated for Defense Secretary as Democrats claimed it was a Christian right-wing extremist symbol.

Hegseth said he was denied a chance to serve in a secure detail in his National Guard unit in Washington DC because of that tattoo.

‘I was deemed an extremist because of a tattoo by my National Guard unit in Washington, D.C., and my orders were revoked to guard the Biden inauguration… a Jerusalem cross tattoo which is just a Christian symbol,’ he told podcaster Shawn Ryan in an interview.

Hegseth said he liked tattoos while he was growing up but refrained from doing so by his father, a basketball coach.

‘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 said in a 2020 interview.

Hegseth said his first tattoo was a ‘spur-of-the-moment’ decision after his wife Jen decided to get a small tattoo on her left bicep.

‘I knew inside my soul this was something I wanted to do and I’ve finally hit the chapter in my life that I’m able to do it,’ he said, revealing he was 37 or 38 when he got his first tattoo.

Most of Hegseth’s other tattoos represent his Christian faith, his American patriotism and his service in the US military.

‘Israel, Christianity and my faith are things I care deeply about,’ he said.

Here is a list of his other tattoos:

Jerusalem Cross on his chest

Hegseth’s most distinctive tattoo is a large Jerusalem Cross on the right of his chest. The cross consists of a large Christian cross surrounded by four smaller crosses in each quadrant

The aforementioned Jerusalem Cross is one of his most distinctive tattoo. It consists of a large Christian cross surrounded by four smaller crosses in each quadrant.

It is an centuries old symbol stretching back to the 13th century where it was used as the symbol of the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the Crusades.

‘Deus Vult’ on his bicep

‘Deus Vult’ on his bicep. The phrase  means ‘God will it.’ This was a phrase that originated from the First Crusade as a battle cry for Christians

Tattooed on his bicep, Hegseth has the phrase ‘Deus Vult’ which means ‘God will it.’ This was a phrase that originated from the First Crusade as a battle cry for Christians.

Hegseth’s book American Crusade, which he describes as a examination of what America would be like without American ideal,  also ends with ‘Deus Vult.’

Cross and sword on forearm