Pete Hegseth got an embarrassingly muted response when he delivered a rallying war cry meant to instill fear in America’s enemies in front of the country’s top military leaders.
The defense secretary, who has now rebranded himself the “secretary of war,” was speaking Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, where almost 800 generals, admirals, and senior enlisted leaders were ordered to gather from around the world on short notice. At the base, near Washington, they were treated to an animated Hegseth, who reeled off chest-beating platitudes accompanied by visceral facial expressions for 45 minutes.
“Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision, and ferocity of the War Department,” the former Fox News host said, setting up his killer line: “In other words, to our enemies, FAFO. If necessary, our troops can translate that for you.”
“FAFO” is an acronym for “F— around and find out,” meaning that one should be prepared to face consequences for meddling with, in this case, the U.S. Hegseth’s remark was met with a toe-curling silence, punctuated only by tepid laughter and a faint “woo-hoo” from the assembled military officers.
His speech was intended to stir the assembled military top brass, who had been called in from the Middle East, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific, leaving their stations without top officers. What ensued was a rambling missive about fat generals, men with beards, and “dudes in dresses.”
An animated Hegseth also railed against what he called “stupid rules of engagement” in the military, cited Jesus, talked up his own book, and repeatedly went over the same talking points. “No more climate change worship, no more division, distraction or gender delusions,” he said at one point.
Hegseth, 45, also banned men with beards from the military and demanded daily workouts and twice-a-year physical fitness tests.
This led, naturally, into his derision of “fat” troops. “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he added.
“Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country, in the world, it’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”
Later on, he announced that basic training would be restored “to what it should be—scary, tough and disciplined.”
As such, drill sergeants would have the right to “put their hands on recruits,” he said.
Hegseth’s own limited experience in the military was as a major in the Minnesota Army National Guard, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan.
He then ran veterans’ nonprofit groups, which he was accused of mismanaging, The New Yorker reported.
The future defense chief also allegedly drank to excess on the job, something he also reportedly did at Fox News when he hosted Fox & Friends Weekend from 2017-24, according to former colleagues.
Hegseth denied excessively drinking and said he would abstain from alcohol as defense secretary before his confirmation.
After Hegseth’s frenetic speech to the stone-faced assembled generals Tuesday, President Donald Trump took the stage. He, too, raised eyebrows with some of his remarks.
“I’ve never walked into a room so silent before,” the president said.
The 79-year-old, who avoided the military draft multiple times, then gave his own rambling address, ranting about everything from President Joe Biden’s autopen to his own love of the word “tariffs” and the threat of nuclear weapons.
“I call it the N word. There are two N words and you can’t use either of them,” Trump said. The audience remained awkwardly silent.
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