Pete Hegseth stood before a room of generals and demanded mandatory testosterone testing, but his hypermasculine rant was met with awkward silence
"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all"
The United States Department of War under Secretary Pete Hegseth is not widely recognized for being particularly supportive of women or LGBTQIA+ individuals. Since his appointment, Hegseth has sought to foster a hypermasculine, testosterone-centered image of the department, a trend that has persisted and was evident again last Wednesday at the State of the Force Address at Marine Corps Base, Quantico.
During a speech on Wednesday, Hegseth criticized socio-politically aware individuals, minorities, and those who don’t conform to traditional male stereotypes. While trying to inspire pride among the generals gathered before him, Hegseth said, “We are no longer the woke department or the weak department.” He added, “Simple translation of that. No fatties, no tr***ies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals, just warriors. Just tough, ready, committed troops.”
Later in the speech, Hegseth said something along the lines of, “The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic Cowboys are in with testosterone testing on top.” He also claimed, “Diversity is not our strength. Unity is our strength.”
Many who saw clips on social media noticed that throughout his speech, Hegseth paused multiple times, seemingly to prompt a response from the audience, but no one clapped or cheered. At times, he looked at the crowd during his pauses as if expecting a reaction, but the only response was prolonged, awkward silence.
Hegseth also spoke about the media during his speech
Just a few weeks ago, President Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico’s White House access in one of his most significant attacks on press freedom. A judge overturned the decision after the news organizations filed lawsuits against the administration, but people representing the administration seem to be holding a grudge, including Hegseth.
During his speech in Quantico, Hegseth took a moment to address the press’s alleged attacks on Trump and insinuated that reporting on Iran was personally motivated. He said, “Our so-called press makes Iranian state media look reasonable. Our media’s shameful lust for political retribution blinds them to the consequences of reckless so-called reporting.”
He also tried to turn the audience against such publications, highlighting their apparent efforts to paint service members involved in the war in Iran in a negative light. He said, “So-called journalists juiced up on Trump derangement syndrome think they’re fighting against our president, but they’re really undermining you, our war fighters.”
Hegseth also accused the so-called “fake news” media of divulging sensitive information about the US to Iran through their reporting, which could put service members’ lives at risk. He said, “It’s your movements and bases that they reveal to the enemy. It’s your operations that they jeopardize when they leak classified capabilities. And ultimately, it’s your lives they put directly at risk when they lie about munition stockpiles.”
He then took things a notch further and said that these organizations were committing a betrayal. “A free press is of course important, but partisan activism that intentionally smears the troops and the historic mission that they’re undertaking is fundamentally anti-American,” Hegseth said. He added, “It’s sick. It’s a national betrayal. It’s treason.”
During his roughly hour-long speech, Hegseth made several other remarks that can be interpreted in different ways. The full video is available to watch on YouTube, uploaded by the official Department of War page.
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