Pete Hegseth Gets Criticized for “SS” Typo on His Name Card as People Link It to the Nazi Regime

In addition to being labeled an “excessive drinker” and a “slippery-fingered texter” after accidentally sending sensitive military information to a journalist, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth now has something else to add to the list: a misspeller. Apparently, the placard card with his name on it, placed on the table during the Dec. 2 White House Cabinet meeting, the last one to occur in 2025, contained a pretty noticeable spelling error. Oops!

On the card was Hegseth's name alongside a title with a double “S.” So it read “SSECRETARY OF WAR.” For context, Trump has already approved the request to change Hegseth’s agency to the Department of War, which would subsequently change his title to Secretary of War, though AP News points out this isn’t an official name change until Congress signs off on it.

But that little “SS” typo on Hegseth’s card has gotten plenty of people talking, and honestly, a little concerned. Here’s why.

Pete Hegseth isn’t just getting haggled for having a typo on his name card during the final Cabinet meeting of 2025; it’s the nature of the typo that has people heated. Instead of saying “SECRETARY OF WAR,” the card read “SSECRETARY OF WAR.” And for those who don’t know, “SS” is something many associate with the Nazi regime.

That’s because SS stands for Schutzstaffel, which started as Adolf Hitler’s personal security unit but later expanded into the “elite guard of the Nazi Reich and Hitler’s executive force,” according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The SS held enormous power, from controlling the German police to overseeing concentration camps. They were essentially the driving force behind the Holocaust.

So why is all of that being tied to Hegseth’s little “SS” typo? Well, some people believe the Republican Party parallels Nazi ideology. In a Reddit thread centered around the spelling error, one person wrote, “If you consider yourself a Republican, then you’re a Nazi.” Another added, “If there's one Nazi and nine Republicans sitting at a table, there are 10 Nazis at the table.”

Those comments got some upvotes, and plenty of others echoed the same sentiment, so it’s not just one or two people making this connection.

While some critics suggest that the Republican Party closely aligns with certain aspects of Nazism, many specifically argue that Trump uses language that mirrors fascism, or more specifically, Adolf Hitler. So, was the “SS” spelling error accidental or a subliminal message many people picked up on?

Could it have been a typo? Sure. But some are convinced that, given Hegseth’s tattoos and his “lust for white Christian nationalism,” he fits the bill of someone aligning with fascism.

As one person wrote in the Reddit thread, “Look at the man’s tattoos. There is nothing subtle about his lust for fascism and white Christian nationalism.” They went even further, adding, “He wouldn’t even be the only Nazi in the cabinet. Stephen Miller is a huge WS who often parrots Nazi rhetoric (even though he’s Jewish).”

And what pushes the envelope for people who already believe certain Republicans, or Trump himself, align with Nazi ideology is something Ivana Trump once shared in a 1990 Vanity Fair interview. She claimed Trump kept My New Order, a book containing Hitler’s speeches, in a cabinet by his bed.

All things considered, it’s understandable why the conversation around the “SS” typo is playing out the way it is.