California Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken a brutal dig at the president’s physique after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the U.S. Military will no longer permit “fat” generals.
Hegseth told a crowd of top military brass on Tuesday that he is tired of seeing out-of-shape generals and admirals leading equally overweight soldiers.
To curb the supposed issue, he said that every service member—at every rank—will be required to take a physical fitness test and meet height and weight requirements twice a year.
“It’s a bad look,” the 45-year-old former Fox News host said of the longtime military leaders. “It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”
I guess the Commander in Chief needs to go! https://t.co/nqssJd02pH pic.twitter.com/2EMICwdCOE
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 30, 2025
Newsom, a Democrat, pointed out that the new policy would render President Donald Trump jobless if it were truly applied universally.
“I guess the Commander in Chief needs to go!” he posted on X, along with a photo of Trump removing his jacket—revealing a protruding torso—from his photo stunt at a McDonald’s during last year’s presidential campaign.
Newsom has used his social media accounts to post Trump-esque attacks on the president and his Cabinet in recent months. The dig at Trump’s weight quickly racked up tens of thousands of likes, and he followed it up with a second post—this time using AI or Photoshop—to mock the president’s love of McDonald’s.
“IT’S COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE TO SEE A FAT COMMANDER IN CHIEF IN THE HALLS OF THE WHITE HOUSE!” Newsom’s press office posted.
IT’S COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE TO SEE A FAT COMMANDER IN CHIEF IN THE HALLS OF THE WHITE HOUSE! pic.twitter.com/hZtRdJG8b7
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) September 30, 2025
Trump, 79, has been showing his age more of late, critics say. He often struggles to walk in a straight line and even rambled during a speech of his own on Tuesday morning about how difficult it is to walk down stairs without falling.
Trump self-reported he was 215 pounds and 6-foot-3 when he was booked into the Fulton County Jail in 2023, but those characteristics—which matched the height and weight of Muhammad Ali in his prime—were criticized as exaggerations used to make him appear taller and skinnier on paper.
The White House claimed in Trump’s most recent physical, from April, that he now weighs 224 pounds.
The president long claimed to be 6-foot-2, and his old driver’s license listed that as his height. However, photos of Trump next to Prince William—who is 6-foot-3—from his U.K. visit this month revealed that the president has not been entirely truthful about his height. Given his likely shorter stature, it is more likely that he would be classified as obese if he were to reveal his actual weight.
Trump, who has been sporting cankles himself lately, has not hesitated to criticize others’ weight over the years. Most recently, he attacked Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and said he needs to “spend more time at the gym.”
Many of the president’s favorite foods are not exactly the healthiest. His day-to-day eating habits are unknown, but he has resorted to junk food in some high-profile settings.
Donald Trump Campaign
Trump ordered McDonald’s, stadium hotdogs, Domino’s pizza, and Diet Coke to his box at a college football game last fall, reported AL.com. A year prior, news cameras captured Trump staffers carrying six big bags of McDonald’s into the courthouse where he was standing trial in Manhattan. Trump also famously smiled in November next to an uncomfortable Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken health nut, as fast food sat in front of them.
Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard, has showcased his fitness multiple times since joining the Trump administration, as has Health and Human Services Kennedy. Now, the duo wants the rest of America to follow suit—even if the president does not play along himself.
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