Addressing the room full of the #US’ top #generals & #admirals, summoned from around the world w/o explanation last week, #Hegseth defended his #firings of #FlagOfficers, which include the top US general, a #Black man, & the #Navy's top admiral, a #woman.

He said the officers he relieved were part of a “broken culture”.

#Trump & #PeteHegseth #military address🤬🧵

#Hegseth promised sweeping changes to how #discrimination complaints are handled & how accusations of #wrongdoing [#WarCrimes, #rape, etc] are investigated at the #Pentagon, saying the current system has top brass walking on "egg shells."

"If the words I'm speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honorable thing & resign," Hegseth said.

"I know the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full."

#Trump #Hegseth #military🤬🧵

#PeteHegseth slammed "#FatGenerals". He criticized the look of overweight troops, saying: "It's completely unacceptable to see fat generals & admirals in the halls of the #Pentagon."

He said ALL fitness tests would be set to #male benchmarks only [meaning #women will be required to pass those tests] & emphasized the importance of grooming standards.

"The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos," Hegseth told the audience, which sat in silence.

#Trump #Hegseth #military 🤬🧵

#Trump, as he departed for the event, told reporters that he would fire #military leaders on the spot if he did not like them.

Trump then opened with a joke as he took the stage, saying: "If you don't like what I'm saying, you can leave the room, of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future."

He then spoke of the #US the military prowess, in often wandering remarks praising US #nuclear #submarines, his creation of the #SpaceForce & military recruiting.

#Hegseth 🤬🧵

#Trump repeated his most recent favorite idiotic claim:
"I have settled so many wars since we're here. We're here almost 9 months."

On getting #Ukraine leader Volodymyr #Zelensky & #Russia President Vladimir #Putin together, he said: "But the only way we can do that is through strength. I mean, if we were weak, they wouldn't even take my phone call." [setting the bar pretty low there Donnie]

#Hegseth #military 🤬🧵

"'Will you get the Nobel Prize?' Absolutely not. They'll give it to some guy that didn't do a damn thing. They'll give it to a guy that wrote a book about the mind of Donald Trump & what it took to solve the wars, & he'll get the #NobelPrize," #Trump complained to the assembled #military leaders.

Trump has used a mix of threats, inducements & the power of his office to try to shape the behaviors of allies & foes.

#Trump #Hegseth #military 🤬🧵

He [nobody else] counts solving conflicts between Armenia & Azerbaijan, Cambodia & Thailand, India & Pakistan, & Serbia & Kosovo among his successes.

Many foreign leaders, including India's, dispute Trump’s claims, that US pressure led to the peace. Others, including Cambodia's, have said Trump's pressure was *helpful*.

And many conflicts remain unresolved, including between Russia & Ukraine, Israel & Hamas.

#Trump #Hegseth #military 🤬🧵

#Trump repeated the message that #Hegseth touted earlier—that the #military will no longer be "politically correct."

"Merit. Everything's based on *#merit* [loyalty to the Supreme Leader]. You're all based on merit. We're not going to have somebody taking your place for political reasons [🤣] because, they are politically correct & you're not," Trump said.

🤬🧵

"We take the people that are going to do the best job. And so it's very simple. And that's the way our country was built. We were built on merit," #Trump who was born a #white #male #millionaire told the #military leaders.

"We're bringing back a focus on fitness, ability, character [🤣] & strength & that's because the purpose of American military is not to protect anyone's feelings. It's to protect our republic."

[character: #Hegseth & Trump who are criminals & rapists👍]
🤬🧵

#Trump told the #military generals in the audience that the #US government has "brought back the fundamental principle that defending the #homeland is the military's first & most important priority."

"Only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe that our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya & Somalia, while America is under invasion from within," Trump said.

🤬🧵

#Trump said those he described as invading were "no different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don't wear uniforms."

"At least when they're wearing a uniform, you can take them out," he added. [JFC!]

#military 🤬🧵

#Trump repeatedly diverged from the purported topic of the future of the #US #military, focusing on several other issues he often highlighted in political rallies.

He spoke about the dangers of #protests against #ICE, & touched on his #NationalGuard dispatch to #WashingtonDC several times, claiming that crime has disappeared in Washington.

He called members of the #media "criminals", & lied about how much money his his #tariffs were raising.

🤬🧵

#Trump returned to his criticism of President Joe #Biden, saying Biden was constantly falling down the #stairs.

Trump said he is more careful.

"I walk very slowly. Nobody has to set a record. I just try not to fall because it doesn't work out well. A few of our presidents have fallen & it became a part of their legacy," said Trump, now 79, who was the oldest man to be elected president when he took office.

#military 🧵

"I'm so disappointed in President #Putin," #Trump said.

"I said I thought he would get this thing over with. He should have had that war done in a week. And I said to him, you know, you don't look good. You're four years fighting a war that should have taken a week. Are you a paper tiger?"

"#Hegseth will soon be announcing major reforms to streamline #military acquisitions & expedite foreign military sales," Trump said.

🤬🧵

There doesn’t seem to be a clear point or purpose in Trump’s speech to the #military generals. He has talked about #tariffs, #Biden & the autopen #ConspiracyTheory, the southern #border, CNN, his personal feelings about #Putin & his thirst for a #NobelPeacePrize.

Trump said he told #Hegseth that “we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,” referring to urban areas within the US. Then he talked about deploying the #NationalGuard to #Chicago & #Portland.

🧵

Already, the remarks by #Trump & #Hegseth are drawing criticism from former #military officials. “I couldn’t be prouder of our highest ranking leaders for maintaining an #apolitical face under immense pressure,” said retired Army Maj. General Paul D. Eaton.

He added, “#PeteHegseth spent millions to fly in all of our generals & admirals to rant about facial hair & brag about how many pull-ups he can do, & have Donald Trump sleepwalk through a list of partisan gripes.”

[that sums it up well]

🧵

The low light of Trump’s speech came when he complained he couldn’t use the “n-word” anymore.

#Trump was speaking to hundreds of #US generals & admirals when he got on the subject of #nuclear weapons. The word nuclear was not one to “throw around,” he said.

“We can’t let people throw around that word, I call it the n-word. There are 2 n-words, & you can’t use either of them.”

“You can’t use either of them,” he said again.

#WhiteSupremacy #racism #TrumpIsARacistPOS #military 🤬🧵

@Nonilex A. SOOOOOO glad I'm retired 🙄

B. Even more glad my son hasn't joined 🙄

#DrunkenPete playing his version of SECDEF is sad beyond words. #SmallDickEnergy #Lame #Clownshow