Retiring Guy's Digest: Military fitness and grooming guru Pete Hegseth gives a poorly received performance

Heather Cox Richardson describes in her 9/30/2025 "Letter from an American" how Hegseth and Trump used the military for one of their made-for-TV performative events:

Last Thursday, September 25, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suddenly announced he was calling about 800 of the nation’s top military generals and admirals, along with their top enlisted advisors, to meet at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Virginia, today. Such a meeting was unprecedented, and its suddenness meant military leaders across the world had to drop everything to run to Washington, D.C., at enormous financial cost for the country. Under those extraordinary circumstances, speculation about what Hegseth intended to say or do at the meeting has been widespread.

Now we know. This morning, in front of a giant flag backdrop that echoed the opening scene from the movie Patton, Hegseth harangued the career military leaders, pacing as if he were giving a TED talk. The event was streamed live to the public, making it clear that the hurry to get everyone to Washington, D.C., in person was not about secrecy.

In his speech, Hegseth reiterated his vision of a military based in what he calls the “warrior ethos.” Ignoring the military’s mission of preventing wars through deterrence, its professional and highly educated officer corps, and its modern structure as a triumph of logistics, he told the military leaders that today was “the liberation of America’s warriors, in name, in deed and in authorities. You kill people and break things for a living. You are not politically correct and don’t necessarily belong always in polite society.”

Related posts:

August-October 2025

Military fitness and grooming head case Pete Hegseth comes up for air and spouts some scary stuff. (10/1)

Flighty Pete Hegseth throws fitness and grooming hissy fit at confab of generals. (9/30)

Meet the always cringeworthy Pete Hegseth. (8/19)

Meet Department of Defense secretary Pete Hegseth, troglodyte. (8/10)

June 2025

West Point graduate Lucien K. Truscott IV gives Trump's bonehead defense secretary Pete Hegseth a much-needed history lesson. (6/27)Mimbo news bulletin: When Trump sycophants go off the deep end (Pete Hegseth edition) . (6/27)Maybe Trump's pique over his puny parade is what gets Pete Hegseth fired. (6/17)Excuses, excuses: Why these Republicans aren't attending Trump's birthday party military parade in Washington DC. (6/14)

March-May 2025

CARRIER OVERBOARD!!!! This is your U.S. Department of Defense under the woefully incompetent leadership of Pete Hegseth. (5/2)

"Woke" is anything that scares Republican men shitless. (4/30)

Trump's kids at play: Pete Hegseth's emoji fest puts America's military at risk. (3/29)