At the start of “Pride Month,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth floated the idea of renaming the USNS Harvey Milk, a Navy oiler ship named after a leftist gay rights activist.
Military.com reported Tuesday that internal documents and an anonymous official claim Hegseth is going after Milk’s ship. Milk has been propped up by the left as a so-called “gay icon,” despite allegations that he engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with minors, specifically teenage boys.
Milk allegedly had a sexual relationship with Jack Galen McKinley, a 16-year-old runaway, in New York in 1964. Their relationship supposedly lasted five years and was documented in biographies, including “The Mayor of Castro Street” and “Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death.” McKinley infamously struggled with addiction and committed suicide in 1980.
Harvey Milk was a sexual predator who preyed on a 16-year-old, Jack Galen McKinley, when Milk was 33.
Democrats have made him a “gay rights icon.”
Thank you @PeteHegseth for removing a child predator’s name from a Navy ship. pic.twitter.com/IHrHzdtxvb
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) June 4, 2025
Pride Month is the holy month of the left’s sexual religion. All over the world, people dressed in fetish outfits and rainbow flag-themed ensembles take to the streets to parade their allegiances to their ideology. Democrats have been loud promoters of these parades, and so it’s not shocking that when news broke that Hegseth might be coming after their alleged pedophile god, they started screaming out to protect the USNS Harvey Milk. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
Democrat New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich claimed the move was disrespectful and a sign of “cruelty.”
“Harvey Milk served his country honorably — first in uniform, then in public office. Taking his name off this Navy ship sends a clear message, and it’s one of disrespect and cruelty,” Heinrich posted.
Harvey Milk served his country honorably — first in uniform, then in public office.
Taking his name off this Navy ship sends a clear message, and it’s one of disrespect and cruelty. pic.twitter.com/d3J3iFnXkS
— Martin Heinrich (@SenatorHeinrich) June 3, 2025
California Rep. Sara Jacobs said removing Milk’s name during Pride Month is “wrong,” calling Milk a “selfless patriot.”
“Harvey Milk was a selfless patriot, devoting his life to serving his country and fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. He’s earned his recognition in our history books and on this Naval ship. Removing his name during Pride Month is wrong, but we won’t let it erase his legacy,” Jacobs posted. (Republicans Doing Nothing Could Actually Yield A Win, For Once)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also jumped onto the outrage train, calling this an “assault on veterans” by President Donald Trump and a “new low.”
“Donald Trump’s assault on veterans has hit a new low. Harvey Milk wasn’t just a civil rights icon — he was a Korean War combat veteran whose commander called him ‘outstanding,’” Newsom said. “Stripping his name from a Navy ship won’t erase his legacy as an American icon, but it does reveal Trump’s contempt for the very values our veterans fight to protect.”
Donald Trump’s assault on veterans has hit a new low.
Harvey Milk wasn’t just a civil rights icon — he was a Korean War combat veteran whose commander called him “outstanding.”
Stripping his name from a Navy ship won’t erase his legacy as an American icon, but it does reveal… https://t.co/0LPuAtSG1y
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) June 3, 2025
It’s good to see Democrats admitting it’s true what conservatives have been saying about them for decades. By taking up for a reported pedophile and propping him up to be some “selfless patriot” and an “icon,” it reveals their allegiance to degeneracy.
Hegseth should melt this golden calf. Let Democrats scream in agony as they watch. Americans and our brave sailors deserve to have ships named after Americans who don’t allegedly lure minors into predatory relationships. The left can support whatever they want, but their condemnations about the potential name change will fall on deaf ears.
As the saying goes: “Your boos mean nothing to me. I’ve seen what makes you cheer.”
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