“He’s a Democrat”: MAGA Sounded Off on Retiring RINO Over His Ridiculous Attacks on Pete Hegseth

Retiring Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon was ruthlessly mocked by MAGA after calling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth an “amateur person” and saying President Donald Trump should fire him. Bacon’s demand gave conservative voters another reason to unload on a Republican congressman who has repeatedly attacked Trump, MAGA candidates, and prominent members of the president’s administration. One X user summed up the prevailing opinion in three words: “He’s a Democrat.”

Bacon became the first House Republican to recommend that Trump remove Hegseth from the Pentagon. Rather than leave the decision to the president, Bacon publicly declared that the defense secretary “should go” and attacked Hegseth’s fitness for the job. The retiring congressman’s commentary placed him alongside the same political and media figures who have spent months looking for an opportunity to force Hegseth out.

The reaction from MAGA was hardly unpredictable. Bacon has become one of the most disliked Republicans in Congress among Trump’s supporters, earning the RINO label through his frequent criticism of the president and opposition to the America First wing of the party. His retirement has therefore been received less as the loss of a Republican incumbent and more as an opportunity to replace him with someone who will not spend his time attacking his own party’s president.

The ridicule began almost immediately. One X user wrote, “Bacon just promoted himself to ‘former congressman from Nebraska.’” Another added, “The only Bacon that nobody wants!” Yet another wrote, “Normally I like bacon, but not in this case.” A fourth commenter offered a similar variation: “The only Bacon I don’t like.”

Other commenters focused on Bacon’s standing with Republican voters (or lack thereof). One user called him an “Extreme RINO,” while another writing simply, “He’s a RINO.” A third asked what many have thought for years, “Can anyone tell me what this guy stands for?” Another responded to the question about Bacon with a plain but dismissive, “Who?”

As we’ve previously reported, Bacon is already retiring and even considered resigning before the end of his term because of his anger over Trump’s proposed peace plan. The possibility of an early exit was described as potentially good news for Republicans frustrated with Bacon’s conduct. His decision to leave Congress means the voters who have repeatedly watched him undermine Trump will soon have an opportunity to send a different kind of Republican to Washington.

Bacon has also lashed out at Trump for helping MAGA candidates defeat establishment Republicans. We reported that Bacon attacked the president after Trump helped a MAGA challenger defeat a RINO senator in a critical election. That episode explained why conservatives view his attack on Hegseth as part of a familiar pattern from the Nebraska Republican. For many Trump supporters, the Hegseth remarks were simply the latest example of Bacon finding a reason to take the establishment side of a fight.

During that dispute, Bacon defended incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) as a dependable Republican fundraiser and argued that Trump had made a mistake by supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He complained that Cornyn could have held the seat easily, while Paxton’s nomination would require Republicans to spend more money defending it. Bacon was yet again criticizing Trump after Republican voters chose the more MAGA-aligned candidate over an establishment incumbent.