Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reassured West Point cadets in a commencement address on Saturday that they would be protected by the White House if they ever make decisions that get them into trouble.
Hegseth, breaking from the tradition of keeping graduation addresses at military institutions nonpartisan, spent much of his speech ranting about previous Democratic administrations before urging cadets to disregard previous rules of engagement in combat.
“No matter what, President Trump and I will have your back when tough decisions are made, especially decisions made in a split second in the heat of battle that air-conditioned offices in Washington, D.C., will never have,” he said, adding, “Understand, your hands are untied.”
He railed against “lawyers” and suggested the only authority that matters is “commanders,” telling the cadets they will have “top cover” when they “prioritize lethality over likability.”
“No more walking on eggshells,” he said.
He also applauded the cadets for being physically in shape, telling them: “You are fit, not fat. You are disciplined, not distracted.”
The Fox News weekend host-turned-Cabinet official has been fixated on the physical looks of members of the military throughout his tenure. In September, he summoned generals to Quantico to berate them about their weight, as he declared “fat generals” were unacceptable.
He told the cadets that “the battlefield does not grade on a curve, and you can’t throw your pronouns at the enemy.”
More ominously, given President Donald Trump’s raging war in Iran during which 13 U.S. service members have died, Hegseth told the cadets they were ready for battle.
“We’re sending you to lead, we’re sending you to forge warriors, and we are sending you, perhaps, to war, and you are ready,” he said, adding that he’d be proud if one of his own children would eventually ask to be sent to war.
As Hegseth was speaking, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform a picture of the Middle East with Iran covered in an American flag, with the text: “United States of the Middle East?”
Hegseth also added that Trump would grant “a complete and total pardon” to any cadets who “committed minor infractions or violations of the regulations of the United States Military Academy.”
