'Clowns are out.' Hegseth lashes out at trans troops, 'beardos' in speech

Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA TODAYWed, September 30, 2026 at 10:33 PM UTC

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Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth lashed out about transgender troops, disparaged diversity initiatives and criticized the news media in a speech to U.S. service members gathered at the Marine Corps Base Quantico.

The address, dubbed the "State of the Force," was promoted by the Pentagon as a chance for Hegseth to lay out his priorities for the coming year. Instead, it largely gave him a chance to air his long-held grievances and concerns about the military's culture.

"The ideological clowns are out, the patriotic cowboys are in," Hegseth said. "Diversity is not our strength, unity is our strength because that’s all that really matters when the missiles are flying."

Though Hegseth started the address by focusing on culture issues in the military, he announced several modernization initiatives.

The Pentagon will establish a new autonomous warfare four-star combatant command that is "built to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the Joint Force in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history," Hegseth said.

He also said the military will solicit proposals for the "next great American base" and launch an effort co-directed by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to study what technological capabilities are needed for the future of warfare.

Hegseth returned to the culture issues by disparaging elite colleges and universities, which he accused of promoting critical race theory. He said the Pentagon would partner with higher education institutions such as Louisiana State University, Liberty University, and Tuskegee University to develop the next generation of patriotic leaders.

"We need students of Western civilization in the pillars of our Republic," Hegseth said. "Leaders who understand the faith of Jerusalem, the philosophy of Athens, the power of Rome, and the freedom of Philadelphia, circa 1776."

At the start of the "State of the Force" event, roughly 600 service members in attendance were handed books that contained a collection of some of Hegseth's former speeches. The book also featured a foreword from President Donald Trump.

Hegseth’s address largely echoed the event that the Defense Department hosted a year earlier, when generals and admirals were flown in from all over the world to hear speeches from Trump and Hegseth.

This year, Trump did not attend the event. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine delivered introductory remarks to the troops before inviting Hegseth to take the stage.

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A former Fox News host, Hegseth called members of the media "anti-American losers" and accused U.S. news outlets of making "Iranian state media look reasonable."

"So-called journalists, juiced up on Trump Derangement Syndrome, think they’re fighting against our President, but they’re really undermining you, our warfighters," he said.

Hegseth, who told troops that "lethality is your calling card," made no mention in his speech of the U.S. airstrike on an Iranian primary school that killed more than 100 children at the start of the war in Iran.

The war in Iran, which has killed thousands of Iranians and at least 18 U.S. troops, has become deeply unpopular among the American public. The war has dragged on for more than seven months, far longer than the Trump administration’s initial estimate at the onset of the war.

The prolonged conflict has also taken a toll on service members stationed in the Middle East. Service members aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group reported poor conditions and low morale amid a record-long amount of time at sea. Eight sailors on the Lincoln attempted suicide during its deployment, according to the Navy.

Hegseth, who served in the Iraq War as an infantry officer, used the speech to portray himself as a Pentagon leader who could relate to the military’s rank-and-file. He announced a "long overdue" 20% cut to positions reserved for generals and admirals, arguing that "you can't change a culture with the same people who enabled it."

Before the address, Hegseth participated in a morning workout on the Pentagon parade field with roughly 600 service members, jogging and doing push-ups alongside troops as they all wore identical gray T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase: "This is War."

In his speech, Hegseth said that there was no place for "fatties" in the Pentagon and said that he has empowered military leaders at every level to enforce his standards without having to "walk on eggshells."

"We are no longer the woke department or the weak department," Hegseth said. "No beardos, no weirdoes, no wimps, no radicals – just warriors."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Clowns are out.' Hegseth lashes out at trans troops, 'beardos' in speech

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