Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been called out for a vile social media post apparently mocking a Canadian youth cadet instructor for being overweight.
Hegseth has been burnishing his Christian credentials for a possible presidential run in 2028 despite the Pentagon hemorrhaging top brass under his command as he backs Donald Trump’s increasingly costly war on Iran.
The 46-year-old is also fixated on the physical appearance of the officers under his command, declaring last September that he no longer wants to see “fat generals and admirals” or overweight troops.
On Monday, Hegseth shared a photo with his two million X followers originally posted by the Vernon Cadet Training Center, in British Columbia. It shows a smiling cadet being presented with a medal on the final day of training.
The Canadian facility teaches cadets aged 12 to 18 military-style leadership and drills and is operated under the Department of National Defense. Its instructors are largely volunteers.
Hegseth picked one photo from the original carousel of 10, added a Canadian flag and wrote, “(this is real).”
His post attracted a flood of criticism, with one Canadian veteran writing, “Wow. The Secretary of Defence is body shaming cadet groups. A youth group. This is not a military unit. They are kids looking for adventure, test themselves and align themselves with the values of service.”
Another asked what point Hegseth was trying to make by sharing the picture. “You’re the Secretary of Defense, and our country is currently engaged in a war,” they wrote. “Why are you posting what appears to be some sort of insulting tweet about teenagers in Canada?”
“Hegseth... is rage-posting about Canadian teenagers in a cadet program,” another post read. “Unserious, unhinged, and embarrassing.”
Another commenter wrote: “There’s the Pete Hegseth brand of Christianity and there’s the Dolly Parton brand of Christianity. Be like Dolly.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Vernon CTC and the Pentagon for comment.
The post follows President Donald Trump, 80, ramping up his trade feud with Canada and signing an executive order to rename Lake Ontario—which straddles the U.S.-Canada border—“Lake America.”
Hegseth previously opposed having women in key military positions. In November 2024, just days prior to Trump announcing his role running the Pentagon, the former Fox News host told podcast host Shawn Ryan, “I’m straight-up saying we should not have women in combat roles.”
He added, “It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.”
When Hegseth announced his new policies on “the highest male standards” for combat roles last September, Hegseth said, “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is. It will also mean that weak men won’t qualify because we’re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death.”
The X post comes as Hegseth is in the midst of a crisis at the Pentagon with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll quitting on Monday after months of feuding behind the scenes.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin reported that Driscoll quit due to “concerns with the administration surrounding Army transformation and readiness and Hegseth’s blocking those efforts specifically by firing the Generals who were responsible.”
A close friend of Vice President JD Vance, Driscoll is expected to exit the Pentagon in the coming days, according to The Wall Street Journal.
