President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday gave a wide-ranging address to top military leaders at the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia — filled with attacks on beards and “fat” generals, and threats against soldiers who don’t adhere to their standards and Democratic-run cities that Trump wants to “straighten” out.
“San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles,” Trump said. “We’re going to straighten them out, one by one. … It’s a war from within.”
“I told Pete, ‘We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,’” the president said. “They like to say, Oh, you’re not allowed to use the military. … Well, that’s what the oath says: foreign and domestic. Well, we also have domestic.”
Trump’s comments were arguably his most direct threats to use the military to crack down on the “enemy within” — a broad term he has used to condemn those who oppose him, including Democrats, protesters, and journalists. This week, Trump deployed the National Guard to more Democratic-run cities: Chicago and Portland, Oregon. Democratic critics allege Trump is attempting to use the military to instill fear in his critics and to crack down on dissent.
Hegseth, meanwhile, advocated for deadly force and war in general:
“We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country,” the defense secretary said.
“The only people who actually deserve peace,” he said, “are those who are willing to wage war … to defend it.”
Trump and Hegseth also criticized some military officials and soldiers:
“I’ve never walked into a room so silent before,” Trump said, seemingly expecting applause from the generals, like he gets at his campaign rallies. “If you want to applaud, you applaud. You can do anything you want. And if you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room. … Of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future.”
“No more beards … long hair, superficial individual expression,” the defense secretary said. “No more beard-os.”
“Each service will ensure that every requirement for every combat MOS [Military Occupational Specialty] … for every designated combat arms position,” Hegseth added, “returns to the highest male standard only.”
The unusual event — which brought military generals and admirals to the base for the speech — cost American taxpayers at least $3 million between air travel, ground transportation, and lodging.
