Trump and Hegseth ripped by ex-Pentagon staff for 'condescending and insulting' America's top generals
By Elina Shiraz
Daily Mail
Sep 30, 2025
Hegseth today fired a direct message to America's top generals: 'No more DEI, dudes in dresses, or gender delusion .... prepare for war'
Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth were accused of 'condescending and insulting' America's top generals and admirals at a highly anticipated summit on Tuesday.
The president and Secretary of War hosted hundreds of military chiefs at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Tuesday, for a meeting they hoped would inspire the nation and revolutionize America's fighting force.
But ex-Pentagon chiefs warned that the political speeches, which meandered through various topics from fat soldiers to Joe Biden's autopen, risked alienating the top brass.
A former national security official told the Daily Mail that he found it 'incredibly condescending ... and a highly inappropriate politicization of the US military.'
'A charade,' was how another ex-Pentagon official characterized the televised meeting. 'To add insult to injury, [Trump] told four-star generals they could quit if they didn't like what he was saying.'
Hegseth set out a vision for troops and their commanding officers unencumbered by woke politics, DEI and 'dudes in dresses,' dropping four-letter expletives throughout his opening gambit.
Trump then followed, attempting to soften the stone-faced generals with anecdotes and quips — including joking about needing to avoid saying the N-word, referring to nuclear weapons.
The summit at Quantico, which was to the Press last week, involved hundreds of generals and admirals being summoned from around the world, including those from war zones.
The purpose of the meeting had remained shrouded in mystery — but speculation of any ominous portending was put to rest this morning, as Hegseth began his speech by lecturing about the need for a 'male standard' fitness test.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine listen to Donald Trump's speech in Quantico, Virginia, today
A former Biden defense official said: 'They spent tons of money to come here and talk about the direction of the department and 'culture'.
'We were already aware that they didn't want women in the military. So, how is that new? Then, to add insult to injury, he told four-star generals they could quit if they didn't like what he was saying. I am not sure how this is going to land moving forward.'
Len Khodorkovsky, former deputy assistant secretary of state, said that Hegseth clearly wants to stay in line with the president's MAGA lane, while cementing his own role, saying 'everything is being recalibrated towards winning.'
'I think what you are seeing with Hegseth and his Pentagon is connected to that idea. Let's focus on the fundamentals, let's focus on what our military is supposed to be doing and our warfighting capacity and name changes,' Khodorkovsky said.
A former national security official told the Daily Mail he found it absurd to see the military's highest ranking service men and women being forced to listen to Hegseth, who was only ever a junior ranking soldier before becoming a Fox TV host.
The ex-defense staffer said: 'I thought it was a highly inappropriate politicization of the US military is something which both Trump and Hegseth love to do.'
'I am impressed by the self-control that so many members of the audience, our senior officers, our generals and admirals, had to sit there and listen with a straight face to a man who couldn't get promoted above major, trying to lecture these people about military standards.
'It was unhinged. I cannot even imagine the thoughts of hundreds of military officers in the audience.'
The former official went even further, saying it was not only the 'wrong message' but the 'wrong messenger.'
'From this moment forward the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: war fighting, preparing for war and preparing to win,' Hegseth continued, saying, however, that they do not wish for war, touting their 'strength through peace' motto
'An unqualified alcoholic who has been accused of domestic violence intended to lecture our military leadership about military standards that he himself is unable to uphold. It was utterly ridiculous,' the source added.
Hegseth has previously strongly denied allegations of domestic violence.
Not everyone took such a dim view of the speeches by the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War.
Dakota Meyer, a US Marine Corps veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, said that the military needed to be revamped, and that lower standards had crept in under previous administrations.
In 2025, Meyer reenlisted into the US Marine Corps, making him the only living Medal of Honor recipient currently on active duty. He says the negative reaction to the secretary of war's speech is flat out wrong, calling out ex-defense officials.
'Dying because of a lack of preparation is unbecoming. The key takeaway from someone who has watched the cost and brutality of war… is if our leaders amongst our ranks, if their biggest fears are that their people are not prepared, then they should not be in a position to ask these men and women to give their lives for them,' Meyer said.
He added, 'People criticizing this, I just don't know what person wouldn't want their person in uniform carrying out the highest standards to protect them.'
Victoria Coates, former deputy national security advisor to President Trump, agrees.
‘I think both Secretary Hegseth and President Trump put the United States military on notice today that the soft phase of the past with DEI, officers, and climate initiatives and drag queen story hour is a thing of the past… it is no longer a social experiment for liberal progressives,’ said Coates.
Coates responds to criticisms that the event could have been done virtually instead of flying out hundreds of military leaders for a short event.
‘COVID is over. It did strike me, everybody in the same room, bring them together, emphasize that this is an important cultural shift, it is going to lead to the American people being safer. And I think they also wanted to deliver some messages. I think when the secretary said if this announcement is making your heart sink, you should think about retiring, I thought that was a very pertinent message that needed to be delivered in person.’
Hegseth had focused his speech on woke politics which he believes have undermined America's fighting force, telling the generals and admirals: 'No more DEI, dudes in dresses, or gender delusion .... prepare for war.'
The Secretary of War said that America's enemies would 'FAFO', which stands for 'f*** around and find out,' if they chose to challenge its military might.
'From this moment forward the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: war fighting, preparing for war and preparing to win,' Hegseth continued, saying, however, that they do not wish for war, touting their 'strength through peace' motto.
What started as a pep talk turned into a list of new directives.
The Secretary of War said that there would be a male standard of fitness for all troops, stating that he was 'tired of seeing fat troops.' Hegseth also said these new rules are 'not about preventing women from serving.'
But he added that the physical standards needed to be gender neutral.
'If women can make it, excellent, if they cannot — then so be it ... it will also mean that weak men won't qualify. This is combat.'
Hegseth said standard training guidelines will be restored 'to what it should be — scary, tough disciplined,' and one where drill sergeants 'can put their hands on recruits.'
Trump meanwhile attempted to soften his military leaders with a series of jokes that didn't quite hit with the serious crowd of top brass.
The president slipped into his MAGA-rally style, but found himself addressing a largely silent crowd of military generals rather than the raucous, overtly supportive audiences he typically commands.
The president bragged that liberals didn't even put up a fight when he wanted to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, claiming: 'There's been no fight... They're sort of giving up. They've had it with Trump.'
He claimed the 'first sign of wokeness' in the military was in the mid 1900s when the War Department, which existed for 158 years, was renamed to the Department of Defense.
But those usual attack lines didn't hit, Trump attempted to soften the stone-faced generals with a series of quips at the top of his remarks – including making a joke about the 'N' word.
'There are two 'n' words and you can't use either of them,' Trump said, telling the room of uniformed leaders that the second 'N' word is 'nuclear.'
'We can't let people throw around that word. I call it the 'N' word,' Trump insisted, explaining how he moved one or two submarines to the coast of Russia after the Kremlin spoke about nuclear-armed adversaries.
