Washington — US President Donald Trump told a gathering of commanders on Tuesday that US cities should be “training grounds” for the military, while defence secretary Pete Hegseth slammed “fat generals” and diversity policies.
Trump, during the televised address to assembled admirals, generals and soldiers in Quantico, Virginia, recommended using deployments to US cities as a training ground for troops and spoke of needing US military might to combat the “invasion from within”.
Trump opened with a joke as he took the stage for the speech that lasted more than an hour, saying: “If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room. Of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future.”
But he then spoke warmly of the military, in sometimes-wandering remarks that touched on issues like the prowess of US nuclear submarines, but also included fierce criticism of the media, former president Joe Biden and Venezuela.
He also took aim at diversity initiatives. “Merit. Everything’s based on merit. You’re all based on merit. We’re not going to have somebody taking your place for political reasons, because they are politically correct and you’re not,” Trump said.
“I am with you. I support you, and as president, I have your backs, 100%,” Trump said.
On stage, Hegseth said diversity initiatives had led to decades of decay in the military, and commanders should resign if they did not support his agenda.
The remarks by Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, and Trump, a former reality television star, had a made-for-TV element to them after top US military officials were summoned on short notice last week to the impromptu event.
“Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading and we lost our way. We became the ‘woke department’,” Hegseth said. “But not any more.”
Addressing the auditorium full of top brass who had flown in from around the world, Hegseth defended his firings of flag officers, including the top US general, who is black, and the Navy’s top admiral, who is a woman. He said the officers he relieved were part of a broken culture.
He promised sweeping changes to how the Pentagon handled discrimination complaints and investigated accusations of wrongdoing. He said the current system has top brass “walking on egg shells”.
“If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honourable thing and resign,” Hegseth said. “I know the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full.”
Hegseth criticised the look of overweight troops, saying: “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.”
He said all fitness tests would be set to male benchmarks and emphasised the importance of grooming standards.
“The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos,” Hegseth told the audience, which sat in silence.
Democrats broadly condemned the event, which they said sought to drive partisan politics deep into the US military.
“It signals that partisan loyalty matters more than capability, judgment, or service to the constitution, undermining the principle of a professional, nonpartisan military,” said senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate’s armed services committee.
Ahead of the event, Trump told reporters he would fire military leaders on the spot if he did not like them.
The auditorium was filled with uniformed officials, seated in front of a stage with a large American flag, a lectern and boards that read: “Strength. Service. America.”
As Trump spoke, several officers sat looking expressionless and the room was far quieter than the crowds at Trump’s usual gatherings. A naval officer took notes.
After his speech, Trump departed the auditorium and there did not appear to be any one-on-one meetings with the assembled military leaders.
The US military is meant to be apolitical, loyal to the US constitution and independent of any party or political movement. That creates pressure on the commanders to avoid reacting to overtly political comments by Trump or Hegseth.
It is unclear how much the event cost. Last week, Hegseth ordered military leaders to fly in from around the world for the gathering just ahead of a potential government shutdown.
The Pentagon has undergone eight months of blistering changes since Trump took office, including firings, banning books from academy libraries and ordering lethal strikes on suspected drug boats off Venezuela.
“If you try to poison our people, we will blow you out of existence,” Trump told the audience.
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to rename the department of defence the “department of war”, a change that will require congressional approval.
The administration has announced a plan to send National Guard deployments to Chicago, the latest US city where Trump aims to deploy US troops despite objections from local authorities.
Trump announced plans to send National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, over the weekend and sent Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles earlier this year, despite protests from local officials.
Illinois governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said: “Anyone who talks about their fellow Americans as enemies to be ‘taken out’ is not fit to lead the nation.”
Reuters
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