In a bold and long-overdue move, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the U.S. Navy to strip Harvey Milk’s name from a naval vessel—bringing an end to the shameful glorification of a man whose disturbing behavior was whitewashed in the name of political correctness.
Naturally, Democrats are fuming—not just over the renaming itself but because it was announced during Pride Month.
“The reported decision by the Trump Administration to change the names of the USNS Harvey Milk and other ships in the John Lewis-class is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “Our military is the most powerful in the world—but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the ‘warrior’ ethos. Instead, it is a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country.”
Make no mistake: Harvey Milk’s name never belonged on a Navy ship.
Stripping his name is not only a step toward restoring integrity to the institution, it’s a victory for common sense and moral clarity. The United States military should not be a vehicle for activist-driven hero worship. It will no longer serve as a pedestal for figures with morally indefensible legacies, no matter how sacred they’ve become to the left’s political narrative.
The Democratic Party’s efforts to canonize Milk go back decades.
During his first year in office, Barack Obama posthumously awarded Harvey Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, hailing him as “one of the first openly gay elected officials in this country” who “changed the landscape of opportunity for the nation’s gay community.” Milk, Obama claimed, was a civil rights pioneer. What he failed to mention—and what the media dutifully ignored—was the deeply disturbing truth about Milk’s personal life.
For our VIPs: The Left Keeps Supporting Truly Evil People
But the man Obama celebrated as a “gay rights icon” had a documented history of sexual relationships with underage boys. That’s not speculation or rumor—it was laid out in plain detail by San Francisco Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts in his 1982 biography of Milk.
Shilts, a personal friend and sympathetic chronicler of Milk, disturbingly downplayed these facts. In one passage, he described how “Sixteen-year-old [Jack Galen] McKinley was looking for some kind of father figure… At 33, Milk was launching a new life, though he could hardly have imagined the unlikely direction toward which his new lover would pull him.” Shilts added, “Harvey always had a penchant for young waifs with substance abuse problems.”
Let that sink in: The Obama administration knowingly celebrated a man with a well-documented history of grooming and exploiting vulnerable teenage boys. Obama’s celebration of this pedophile continued with the Medal of Freedom and a commemorative postage stamp, and finally, in a move that defies all decency, the U.S. Navy christened a ship in his name.
Thank you, Pete Hegseth, for doing the right thing.
Pete Hegseth’s bold move to rename the USNS Harvey Milk is a victory for truth over activist agendas. Help us keep exposing these critical stories by joining PJ Media VIP with code FIGHT for 60% off. Enjoy insider perspectives and exclusive content while backing our mission for integrity. Don’t wait—sign up now to support real journalism!
