AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
At a gathering of US military leaders, Defense Secretary Hegseth denounced “fat generals,” diversity initiatives, and urged resignations for those not supporting his agenda. Trump defended his policies and suggested using American cities as military training grounds, sparking criticism from Democrats like Governors Newsom and Pritzker who condemned the proposals as dictatorial and dangerous. Republican lawmakers praised the speeches as inspiring and supportive of the military. Military officials have remained largely silent, as expected due to the military’s apolitical nature. The event’s cost and timing before a potential government shutdown also drew scrutiny.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speeches at a rare gathering of U.S. military leaders on Tuesday were met with sharp criticism from Democrats, praise from Republicans but a muted response so far from military officials themselves.
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Hegseth has moved with stunning speed to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Trump’s national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he calls discriminatory.
The U.S. military is supposed to be apolitical, loyal to the U.S. Constitution and independent of any party or political movement.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat whose name has been floated as a possible 2028 presidential contender, said the speech should terrify people.
“Declaring war on our nation’s cities and using our troops as political pawns is what dictators do. This man cares about nothing but his own ego and power,” Newsom posted on X.
Trump has announced plans to send National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, and has already sent Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles earlier this year, despite protests from local officials.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat whose state is expected to see National Guard troops, issued a sharp reaction.
“Our troops and our nation deserve better than you acting as a petty tyrant,” he said.
‘DERELICTION OF LEADERSHIP’
The top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed, slammed the speech as “an expensive, dangerous dereliction of leadership by the Trump Administration.”
During the event, there were few visible reactions from the generals and admirals attending the event — who sat largely silent.
The senior U.S. military officials streamed out of the auditorium after Trump’s speech and many will rush back to their posts.
So far, there has been little in the way of reaction from the uniformed officials who attended.
But some Republican lawmakers had a positive view.
Republican Congressman August Pfluger said Hegseth’s speech was “inspiring” and encouraged every American to watch it.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime ally of Trump, said Trump had heaped well deserved praise on the military.
“It is a breath of fresh air to see a Commander in Chief expressing unending pride in our military and being strong without apology,” Graham said.
(This story has been refiled to fix a grammatical error in paragraph 1)
Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
Editing by Nick Zieminski
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
