Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, who now calls himself the Secretary of War, is receiving criticism for inviting top military officials to his speech on warrior ethos. He has invited hundreds of generals and admirals from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Marine Corps to a meeting in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday.
This isn’t the first time he’s drawn flak from the public, but this time, military officials may be feeling the same, too. Even if the officials are posted abroad, they will have to fly in to attend the meeting.
Those who are aware of the meeting, Hegseth wants to make a video of his brief address, too. He’ll speak on military standards and culture. The reason for inviting top officials is that the stars on their uniforms will add to better optics in the audience. On the other hand, the White House claims the meeting is a show of force by its military.
But little do they know, the internet has not welcomed this move. Netizens are criticizing Pete Hegseth for his meeting plans. One of them wrote on BlueSky, “Definitely a meeting that could have been an email,” we know how everyone dreads attending lame meetings that could have been an email.
Another user added, “Caligula’s putting on a little show,” making a reference to the Roman emperor who was tyrannical. Another user said, “My dad was a colonel who trained pilots going into battle,” knowing how military officials are, another user said. “If he’d been summoned to a lecture about the ‘warrior ethos’ from a Fox News host, he may have dive-bombed the Pentagon.”
Long-term Trump administration critic Gavin Newsom also chimed in. His official press office page on X posted, “POOR PETEY HEGSETH! WANTS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BUT LOOKS LIKE THE GUY TLC FIRED FROM “DUCK DYNASTY,” referencing a reality show where they sell duck hunting products.
Newsom went on to mock him even more adding, “WEAK, NO BRAINS, NO TALENT, ZERO FUTURE!” Newsom has been mocking Trump and his administration members with different tactics. He copies Trump’s all caps writing style on social media. His online website, which has merchandise similar to MAGA, also went viral.
Apart from jokes, some people also saw the meeting to be a waste of time. Claire McCaskill, former senator, wrote this meeting looks like a part of a chaotic decision. She pointed out how top military leaders in one place are concerned from a security standpoint.
