The FOXNews Talking Head-Turned Secretary of War

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Leaks Show Hegseth’s Selfish Reason for Calling in Generals

MAN OF WAR

The Fox News host-turned-defense secretary is all about the optics.

Sarah Ewall-Wice Political Reporter

Updated Sep. 27 2025 3:11AM EDT Published Sep. 26 2025 6:17PM EDT 

Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunda

The former Fox News personality, now a top Trump official, reportedly wants to make a video of his brief speech. 
Hegseth will be addressing military standards and the “warrior ethos,” multiple people familiar with the planned event told The Washington Post.

A White House official separately told CNN that the meeting is meant to be a show of force, demonstrating what the military looks like under Trump. 

In the speech, Hegseth will reportedly discuss the Trump administration’s reinvention of the Defense Department as the “Department of War” and address new readiness, fitness, and grooming standards.

As it was put to CNN, the “guys with the stars on their shoulders make for a better audience from an optics standpoint.”

New details are emerging about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s unusual planned gathering of hundreds of top military officials in Virginia next week. / Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The defense secretary’s team plans to record his speech and then release it publicly. It will also reportedly be amplified by the White House.

The gathering, which is scheduled to take place Tuesday, was described as a “pep rally.” But bringing hundreds of generals to Quantico, including those stationed abroad, could prove extremely expensive.

•  In response to the Daily Beast’s question about Hegseth’s plans to use the gathering to make a video, a Pentagon spokesperson said it had nothing more to add besides a short previous statement from chief spokesperson Sean Parnell.

“The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” Parnell said.

The video plan would explain why the meeting couldn’t be conducted over secure video conferencing. Some retired military officials have pointed out not only that this is possible, but also that it would be less risky than requiring so many military officials to travel to one place.

• The original idea for the gathering of top military brass was Hegseth’s, CNN reported.

The defense secretary, an Army veteran, has repeatedly shown disdain for “woke” military leaders, ordered a reduction of four-star generals, ranted about what he calls the “warrior ethos,” and shared content of himself working out.

Pete Hegseth speaks as President Donald Trump signs an executive order to rename the Department of Defense the “Department of War.” / Brian Snyder / Reuters

Hegseth has remained largely tight-lipped about the upcoming meeting, but appeared to address some concerns about it on Friday morning with a sarcastic post on X.

The defense secretary wrote “Cool story, General” in response to a tweet from retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges about Adolf Hitler gathering Nazi generals in 1935 and them being “required to swear a personal oath to the Führer.”

 

When no reason was given as to why Hegseth was ordering top generals to gather, multiple retired military officials raised questions.

Retired Gen. Mark Hertling told MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Friday that he had never heard of such a meeting—where so many top officials were brought in—in the history of the U.S. military.

• “I’ve never seen anything like this before, and it just seems extremely bizarre and strange,” Hertling said.

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