Pete Hegseth was cool, calm, and collected Wednesday evening, roughly 24 hours before Israel (with non-military assistance from the United States) launched a massive preemptive strike on Iran. The secretary of defense was spotted enjoying a Diet Coke, the non-alcoholic beverage adored by Donald Trump and many others, while watching the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

The former Fox News host, who is already considered to be one of the greatest defense secretaries since Dick Cheney, looked on as Republicans battered the Democratic opposition on their way to a lopsided 13-2 victory. Democrats, who are attempting to win back male voters by allowing them to play in women's sports, have not won the annual baseball contest since 2019.

Hegseth was immediately praised by historians for keeping his composure and going about his daily life on the eve of a dramatic military strike that crippled Iran's nuclear capabilities and eliminated much of the regime's military leadership. Some have compared it to Barack Obama's appearance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner days before U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden with the help of intelligence gleaned through enhanced interrogation. Many have argued that Hegseth's appearance at the Congressional Baseball Game was an even better example of American poise and fortitude, given that watching an American pastime is much cooler than going to a journalism party for nerds.