Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth returned to familiar territory during his latest military rant, unleashing another tirade against “woke” ideology and “beardos” in the ranks.
Hegseth, who walked onstage to Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes—a song whose frontman Jack White once sued the Trump campaign for using—opened with small talk that landed flat. “It’s a pleasure to be here. Much rather be… spend a morning in Indiana than a morning in Washington, for sure,” he said, adding, “Although I could do without the snow, as a Minnesota boy.”
After a few seconds of silence, Hegseth glanced across the crowd. “First time I’ve seen it this season,” he added, before moving on.
He didn’t find traction until he pivoted to his favored topic, purging “woke” ideology from the military. “No more identity months. No more DEI offices. No more dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division. No more gender delusions,” he shouted, drawing applause.
The former Fox News host—now one of the most polarizing figures in Donald Trump’s Cabinet—also brought up his teenage son, Gunner, in a comment that echoed his recent remarks to U.S. sailors in Japan. “I don’t want my son serving alongside troops that are fat and out of shape, or in combat units with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men in their units,” Hegseth said.
In his Yokosuka address aboard the USS George Washington last month, however, he had joked about Gunner not being brave enough to join the armed forces. “I don’t know if he ever will, I don’t know if he has the guts to do it. Maybe, don’t tell him. I think he does,” he said.
Back in Fort Wayne, Hegseth then launched into another of his obsessions: facial hair. “We don’t need to be a military of beardos anymore,” he said. “Do you know how many troops claim to be Nordic Pagan? No, suddenly it’s become this real fake religious affiliation inside the Pentagon where troops claim to be Nordic Pagan so they can grow a beard and nobody challenges them on it.”
The secretary formally banned beards across the services in September, despite previously lobbying Fox News executives to let him keep his “vacation beard” when he was a TV host. Ahead of his Japan visit, he warned that service members “with shaver waivers are NOT authorized to attend.”
Later in the speech on Wednesday, Hegseth switched gears to deliver a profanity-laced Donald Trump impression, recalling the moment the president offered him the job. “I’ll never forget walking out of his office at Mar-a-Lago,” he said. Crunching his face into imitation, he added: “He said two things… ‘Pete, you’re going to have to be tough as s–t.’”
He got a laugh for the impression. Trump’s second instruction, Hegseth said, was to “bring the warrior spirit back to the military.”
He also touched on the Trump administration’s controversial lethal maritime strikes that have killed dozens.
There have been at least seven hits on go-fast boats and a submersible in the Caribbean since early September. Hegseth said last month that the U.S. also struck two vessels in the eastern Pacific. “My advice to foreign terrorist organizations, do not get in a boat,” he quipped. Driving home his point and addressing traffickers, he added, “We will find you and we will kill you.”
The Fort Wayne appearance follows a string of awkward public moments for Hegseth. During a September event at Marine Corps Base Quantico, he told top generals, “To our enemies, FAFO [F–k around and find out.] If necessary, our troops can translate that for you.” Trump later remarked on the chilly reception: “I’ve never walked into a room so silent before.”
