&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'WEAK, NO BRAINS, NO TALENT': Pete Hegseth mocked for calling generals for meeting that 'could have been an email'")
Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host turned US Defence Secretary, has found himself at the centre of controversy once again after ordering senior military leaders to attend a short speech on the “warrior ethos.”
Why are generals being called in?
According to reports in The Washington Post, Hegseth demanded that every officer above the rank of one-star general travel to Virginia for Tuesday’s address, even those stationed overseas. The event will be filmed and used for optics, with one source saying the secretary wanted “guys with the stars on their shoulders” in the audience.
Social media turns on Hegseth
While the White House defended the meeting as a show of strength, critics online were quick to dismiss it. “Definitely a meeting that could have been an email,” one user wrote on BlueSky. Another quipped, “Caligula’s putting on a little show,” comparing Hegseth to the notorious Roman emperor. One poster recalled their military father’s likely reaction, “If he’d been summoned to a lecture about the ‘warrior ethos’ from a Fox News host, he may have dive-bombed the Pentagon.”
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Newsom joins the pile-on
California Governor Gavin Newsom also took aim, ridiculing Hegseth in a viral post. “POOR PETEY HEGSETH! WANTS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BUT LOOKS LIKE THE GUY TLC FIRED FROM ‘DUCK DYNASTY,’” he wrote, before adding, “WEAK, NO BRAINS, NO TALENT, ZERO FUTURE! HE WANTS TO BE SECRETARY OF ‘WAR’ BUT CANNOT EVEN THROW AN AXE OR DO A PULL UP. SAD!”
Not everyone saw the moment as a laughing matter. Former Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill warned in MSNBC that gathering all top generals in one highly publicised place raised security risks. “We already have [Donald Trump] who is all over the map when it comes to military matters,” she wrote, adding that Hegseth’s decisions since January have created “chaos” insidethePentagon.
