On Tuesday, American generals flew into Washington to attend Pete Hegseth’s mandatory meeting. Everyone waited with bated breath: would this be the moment when Makeup Studio Pete would go Full Himmler? Well, it turns out that the “Secretary of War” wanted to announce some big changes for the military. He wants all military branches to push out women and minorities, he wants to bring back deadly hazing rituals for boot camps and he wants to ensure that when push comes to shove, the American military will turn their weapons on American civilians. Donald Trump was there as well, and he spoke too. The whole thing was supposed to be another Nazi rally for Hegseth and Trump, only the generals were not a receptive audience. Military sources told Politico that the generals were pretty disgusted with the whole exercise.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech to top generals was supposed to serve as a rallying cry for military exceptionalism — but it didn’t land that way with many of the people it was targeting. Numerous defense officials — who watched senior brass scramble to Washington and then sit through a partisan speech from President Donald Trump and a return to old-school military standards by Hegseth — were left wondering why the event had occurred at all.
“More like a press conference than briefing the generals,” said one defense official, who, like others, was granted anonymity due to fears of retribution. “Could have been an email.”
Defense officials, in the Pentagon and at bases around the world, spent much of Tuesday trying to make sense of the last-minute gathering at the Quantico base in Virginia. Hegseth called out “fat generals,” and, separately, pushed fitness standards that could limit women in combat roles, while Trump offered his justification for sending the military into American cities.
The 90-minute event — which featured military officials who swore an oath to the Constitution attending something more akin to a campaign rally — had the feeling of a Hollywood production. Trump even instructed officials to “just have a good time.”
The meeting took place hours before a likely government shutdown, and struck some officials as a distraction that threatens to shift the military’s focus away from foreign threats toward an unprecedented domestic role.
“Not quite a loyalty test, but … on the spectrum of loyalty to ideology,” said a second defense official. “Total waste of money.”
Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine suggested Russian and Chinese officials would worry that hundreds of American generals and admirals had gathered together. But some current and former defense officials instead feared the security risk of sticking almost all of America’s top officers in the same room. And they dismissed Hegseth’s effort to bolster the military’s aggressive image through grooming standards and ending diversity programs.
“It‘s a waste of time for a lot of people who emphatically had better things they could and should be doing,” said a former senior defense official. “It’s also an inexcusable strategic risk to concentrate so many leaders in the operational chain of command in the same publicly known time and place, to convey an inane message of little merit.”
Some officials spent their time doing back-of-the-envelope math on ChatGPT to figure out how much the spectacle cost. Others across bases chose to avoid watching entirely. “At this point, I am averting my eyes,” said a third defense official.
As always, I go back and forth between feeling terrified and feeling gutted and embarrassed. At the end of the day though… I know people like Hegseth and Trump want nothing more than to terrify people and I won’t give them that. F–k them. They want to feel like bigly authoritarians convening the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, and the generals were like “these dipsh-ts, good god.”
The faces of our generals as they listen to a 34-time convicted felon and 5-time draft dodger. pic.twitter.com/N4gNUWkjTJ
— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) September 30, 2025
And after 40 minutes of cringe-Thunderous applause from the generals!
Just kidding. Total silence. 👀 🦗 🦗 pic.twitter.com/NytJzUMjn8
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 30, 2025
Trump to a room of generals: "I've never walked into a room so silent before. Just have a good time. And if you want to applaud, you applaud." pic.twitter.com/9AQrAIII8u
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2025
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- President Donald Trump addressing the media at the White House as he announced the deployment of the National Guard Featuring: President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Aug 2025 Credit: Yuri Gripas/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump addressing the media at the White House as he announced the deployment of the National Guard Featuring: President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Aug 2025 Credit: Ron Sachs/CNP/INSTARimages
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- President Donald Trump chairs a cabinet meeting at the White House Featuring: President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 26 Aug 2025 Credit: Aaron Schwartz/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump chairs a cabinet meeting at the White House Featuring: President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 26 Aug 2025 Credit: Aaron Schwartz/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- United States President Donald J Trump and President Karol Nawrocki of the Republic of Poland participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC Featuring: Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 03 Sep 2025 Credit: Aaron Schwartz/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- United States President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media while signing an executive order for the US Department of Defense to be renamed the US Department of War in the Oval Office of the White House Featuring: Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 05 Sep 2025 Credit: Francis Chung/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
I don’t even like these two clowns but I’m feeling secondhand embarrassment from the photos alone.
It’s okay, your secondhand embarrassment is probably not so much for them as it is for watching our country being openly, proudly authoritarian for all. Of course you and I both know that given the way that Native Americans, Africans kidnapped to this country and forced to work, other minorities, women and gay and lesbian people have been treated means that this country has never been free, but there was a sense of… well the opposite of whatever the hell this dime store hitler and his equally fascist party are doing.
@betsy EXACTLY.
I would like to see Trump, as the Commander in Chief, take the military physical fitness test RIGHT NOW.
This gives me some hope that the military will not fall in line with when Trump orders them to fire on American citizens. (And he will give that order. It’s only a matter of time.)
He already did by deploying the National Guard to police American cities. You think they don’t have the order to shoot? They aren’t carrying waterguns.
Well, lucky for them, they have assembled their very own private army of wannabes in the form of ICE that have even less scruples about being used against their own civilians, so if the military won’t do it – ICE will.
I saw quite some (ex)military protesting recently on Bluesky.
Guess mainstream media doesn’t want to show that
@MichaelaCat – no, the mainstream media wants everyone to be either supportive of the fascism or scared of speaking out. They will not cover any of that jazz.
We need to identify an independent media outlet or three and coalesce around them. I wish there were some liberal alternative to NBC and the rest, because that’s what this country needs, a big, loud, popular outlet that doesn’t excuse away the lies of and abuses by the GOP.
Interesting podcast listen that Pete Hegseth is definitely gonna run for President down the road. Gawd I hope not. I hate this timeline. He’s a white nationalist incompetent drunk.
People voted for DT. They’ll vote for PH too. There are enough men in the US with an incel and racist mentality for him to win even without cheating. Not to mention women who have a weakness for bad boys and like to be treated like garbage.
Next trump will wear the uniform of all the branches of the US military! and full chested medals. And one made for him only as the special and anointed one. All ‘benevolent’ dictators have this golden rule book.
Eh, pretty sure he’s going to shoot himself in the foot sooner rather than later & trump will fire him. And I mean that both literally & figuratively. Guy’s a drunk. He’ll do it.
He’ll have to wait in line after Don Jr, Lara and maybe Ivanka will reappear in politics
These are just the tactics of fascists: it’s an exercise of power to demonstrate power. “Leave the room! Of course, there goes your rank….there goes your future…” Trump just wanted to be able to say “I own you” to the military. All of this is just to appease egos and every person in that room knows it except for the Orange Ego up front and the Manic Ego flapping his gums.
Frat boy Pete and 5-time draft dodger Don are indeed buffoons. But the architects of Project 2025, whose fascist vision those two idiots outlined to the generals, are not. Their stated goal is to dismantle our democracy. It’s the Heritage Foundation and their genuinely evil minions like Stephen Miller that I’m afraid of, and it feels like so far, they are succeeding.
This is so embarrassing. I have friends from other countries being like what is this. what is your country doing. And it’s just so cringe.
AND EXPENSIVE AND A SECURITY RISK.
It’s way beyond cringe. This is terrifying to watch from the outside, but also, as a Canadian, we are terrified of him attacking us as well.
Something akin to what happened in Nepal has to happen in America, or there will be no turning back.
What happened in Nepal is unlikely to happen here unless those who actively got us here – those who voted for this directly as well as those who voted 3rd party and sat at home not voting (90 million) actually do the work themselves. They knew what was coming. We all did. Orange stated outright what he was going to do during the campaign. Kamala and Dems were explicit about Project 2025. All those listed didn’t care and now we’re all suffering. It’s on them to actually do the work they didn’t do in November. But they won’t. Because they’re too busy blaming Dems and expecting those who voted right, especially Black people, to do the work for them.
The silence that greeted trump was 😘
but his super awkward response to it … like a needy immature child who is thirsty for attention and undeserved adulation – so cringe and embarrassing.
It’s like Trump’s handlers tried to feed his ego by putting him in a room surrounded by generals, in uniform, with lots of medals – having all eyes of the nation’s top military officers trained on him – thinking it would be like one of his stage-managed rallies/political events filled with MAGAsts with cheering and fawning.
Think again folks. Trump and PH’s were utter fools, putting their assinine and non-serious selves on full display, and destroying any shred of confidence, positional respect that might have remained before this ill-conceived shitshow.
Sir, the US armed forces command are NOT your toy soldiers or royal courtesan suck ups and no you are never going to gain their respect buy posturing and begging for it, or trivializing the serious work they do or their Oaths to serve and defend the US Constitution
So cringe! Much losers!
I never thought I would be rooting for a military coup in this country, but here I am. One of the photos of the generals during the fascist lecture showed a guy with his head in his hands. I do have to wonder how many of them voted for this. 🤔
I think the officer corps has been voting a lot more democratic in recent years. They’re very highly educated people, and highly educated people have moved to Dems.
Those speeches made a military coup look like a good thing.
I said the same thing to my husband last night. The generals might not be aligned with me politically, but they seem like adults and patriots. Let them take over, sort through and purge the scum, and then ensure a truly free and fair election is held. And keep an eye on Elon Musk too.
And I can’t even believe it but I actually feel this way. I’d would feel way better with those people in charge.
@Brassy Rebel — came here to say the same about hoping for a military coup. Seriously, these military leaders know what’s up.
I talked with a former military coworker. When we attend town halls and stuff with the CEO of our company, you do hear people applaud after he talks. I asked him if it was normal for military to applaud a speech (whether or not the silence meant anything). He said “I wouldn’t expect applause. it’s like going to a commander’s call and you’re just talked at” He was amused at all the military top brass getting a taste of that. I’m glad the military kept to their standard operating procedure and didn’t give in to Trump saying to applaud.
It wasn’t just the lack of applause; it was the deathly silence.
“You can do anything you want, you could leave the room, but if you do, there goes your rank, there goes your future”… WHAT?!?!?!?
This is about greed. The Heritage Foundation is all about tax breaks for the wealthy, increased military spending, and union-busting tactics. I suspect most of the generals are on board with this, but they were embarrassed by Hegseth & Trump.
My understanding is that brass are less likely than enlisted to be more liberal. Though that’s all a continuum, obviously.
Can’t increase military spending if you don’t fund the government. Can’t accomplish military goals by firing all the civilian employees, or reducing their ranks by 40% (current direction).
Yes, so long as they get to play with bigger toys…
It’s way beyond cringe. This is terrifying to watch from the outside, but also, as a Canadian, we are terrified of him attacking us as well.
Something akin to what happened in Nepal has to happen in America, or there will be no turning back.
It was both terrifying and embarrassing at the same time. Applause or not, the looks on those leaders’ faces tells you how they felt about that meeting. The dead silence in response to what were clearly meant to be big applause moment was just awkward but yet hilarious at the same time.
I don’t know how anyone could listen to Hesgeth and think he’s competent, and I don’t know how anyone could listen to trump and not pick up on the dementia.
Yesterday Putin saw that it’s possible to get all the US military generals in one room and that the time/place of the meeting be publicized beforehand.
This meeting scares me, Border Patrol wearing camo and carrying automatic weapons have moved into downtown Chicago. The local news station is interviewing average people on the street saying how peaceful it was there til THEY arrived. The felon doesn’t care that tourism $$$$ is lost, look at DC.
In the suburb of Broadview the ICE facility has had to use tear gas and pepper balls to move the protestors out of the way so ICE can function. One young guy took off his shirt and you could see 15 round welts where the rooftop snipers had hit him. The protestors and ICE are just fking each other up every day and Pritzker is asking everyone to film any encounter they have. Seeing the generals not applaud is heartening but boots are already on the ground here.
God he’s such a hollaback girllllll.
Appalling, just appalling. Trump spoke for 73 minutes – what’s with authoritarians and huge long speeches – and not one of those minutes was worth listening to. In between making entirely inappropriate political attacks, he also mused on the great idea of using military personnel in US cities to quell the enemy within. How on earth can any American listen to this man and not be sickened. And I think I counted less than 10 top brass in the photos of the hundreds present who weren’t white men. Still too many as far as MAGA is concerned.
So why do these evil clowns want super aggressive men aggressively shaved and buff but never a foreign war?
The shaved part is a racist attack on shave bumps (pseudofolliculitis barbae) and the white part I’ll leave to your imagination, but the war part of their desires, if not foreign, is us.
Trump wants Nazi loyalty for “the enemy within.”
He’s surely demented but someone like Miller is pulling the hidden policy strings.
So… like…are the generals gonna military coup these clowns or nah? Which would also be awful and sad but I don’t see any other way out of this. I really fear there won’t ever be another real election. Putin’s biggest fan will want to run sham elections going forward.
Trump told them he wants to use American citizens as target practice. This is beyond calling him stupid or senile. Trump and Hegseth are f–cking sickos.
90 minutes! NINETY MINUTES!!!! They spent all that time & money pulling in admirals & generals from around the world for NINETY EFFING MINUTES?!!!!!!! Talk about your waste, fraud, and abuse. 🤦♀️
So much for DEI being a problem. Middleaged white men filled the room.
“An inane message of little merit.”
I saw the Tennessee Holler post also on SM. Omg 😆