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Top American military brass looked on in silence Tuesday as they sat for an extensive lecture from US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who wants to be known as the Secretary of War, and their commander-in-chief, President Donald Trump.
The message from Hegseth is that the US military isn’t ready to fight in the way it needs to be and that he’s tired of seeing “fat generals” parading around the Pentagon.
But his demand that the military clean up and get more fit was less important than the new mission generals and admirals got from their commander-in-chief, who sees an invasion from within: American inner cities are “a big part of war now,” Trump said.
If the brass didn’t like it, they should leave the room, Trump said, apparently joking before issuing the warning: “Of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future,” he said.
Hegseth made a similar point—and seemed quite serious. “If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” he said.
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