Pete Hegsesth's Speech to the U.S. Generals and Admirals Was Confusing, and Could Have Been an Email

Since becoming Secretary of War (formerly Secretary of Defense), Pete Hegseth has made some interesting, and at times questionable, moves. His biggest misstep was undoubtedly Signalgate. In March 2025, a group chat on the encryption app Signal was created. It involved Hegseth, former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, and several more top officials. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was also accidentally added to the chat.

To make a long story short, classified information was shared in this chat. Goldberg wrote about his inclusion in this chat. Waltz was fired for this. Hegseth was not. Fast forward to September 2025, where Hegseth gathered hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals from all over the world to speak to them about all sorts of things that don't apply to their military duties. The reactions to this 45-minute vanity project were interesting. Let's take a look.

There a couple of ways to look at the reactions to Hegseth's speech. The first is how the U.S. generals and admirals reacted to the speech itself. There are numerous photos of stone-faced members of the military staring up at the stage in confusion, while Hegseth spoke for 45 minutes about things that weren't applicable to their ranks. For example, Hegseth fat-shamed members of the military and demanded more stringent physical tests. That's for the rank and file, not a four-star general.

It's important to note that there is a long tradition of members of the military not applauding during political speeches in order to maintain their non-partisanship. One defense official told Politico that the speech could have been an email, adding that it felt "more like a press conference than briefing the generals." Another told the outlet that while this wasn't an outright loyalty test, it was on the "spectrum of loyalty to ideology."

Following Hegseth and President Trump's speeches, numerous politicians and veterans had much to say about what they heard. Regarding the president's penchant for deploying the National Guard to American cities, House Democrat Pat Ryan posted his thoughts to X, calling that un-American. "Every freedom-loving American Patriot, regardless of their political party, must speak up NOW," demanded the veteran.

U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.) released a statement calling the meeting a spectacle, adding that it was a distraction from the "serious business of ensuring our national security." They pointed out the cost of doing this on the eve of a government shutdown, which happened at midnight.

Trump allies, like Senator Tommy Tuberville from Alabama, saw the meeting as useful. Per Politico, Sen. Tuberville said in an interview that he thought Hegseth's speech was strong, particularly when it came to warfighting. "We don’t do enough of it," he said. "We don’t do enough flying training. I like this approach." Democrats, on the other hand, saw the speech as a vanity project that put the United States in danger due to the fact that so many top military officials were in one location.