The nomination of Pete Hoekstra to the position of U.S. Ambassador to Canada signals Trump’s continued willingness to promote those with anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBTQ+ views. Throughout Hoekstra’s time in elected office, which stretches back to the 1990s, he was an early adopter of these themes, supporting what were once fringe positions, but are now central to the MAGA movement. He has long vehemently fought against LGBTQ+ rights, supported anti-immigrant policies and border vigilante groups such as the Minutemen, and argued for the privatization of education. During the first Trump administration, he was Ambassador to the Netherlands, a time he spent mired in scandals for his opposition to LGBTQ+ rights, past anti-Muslim comments alleging non-existent “no-go zones” in the country, and support for local virulently anti-Muslim politicians such as Thierry Baudet and Geert Wilders, who have both been sanctioned for their bigoted speech.
