Pete Hegseth on Monday appeared to mock a woman’s weight in a photo from the Vernon Cadet Training Centre for youth in British Columbia, Canada.
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The embattled defense secretary has real issues to worry about, including the departure of his Army secretary amid reported concerns that Hegseth is stunting the military’s technological growth while halting merited promotions.
Hegseth has expressed contempt for overweight service members and pushed for change. But that was no reason to fire off a mean viral post about young people far removed from the U.S. military.
🇨🇦 (this is real) pic.twitter.com/Ucx2FNdi1q
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) September 1, 2026
“(This is real)” Hegseth wrote on X above a photo of what seems to be a cadet shaking hands with an instructor in a medal ceremony to conclude a summer program. (HuffPost has reached out to Vernon for details and comment.)
“The X post speaks for itself,” a spokesperson for Hegseth told HuffPost on Tuesday.
Word of Hegseth’s ridicule of course had reached the program.
“Ignore the people who couldn’t keep the Strait of Hormuz open after burning through a third of the Tomahawk stockpile — they’re not fit to judge anyone’s discipline,” one commenter wrote in the Instagram entry where the photo originated.
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A Canadian politician also chimed in with his disgust.
“Cadets do great work, and are not members of the military,” parliament member Garnett Genuis wrote on X. “158 members of the Canadian military gave their lives in Afghanistan after your country was attacked. Canada and the US have a great history of fighting together for freedom and justice. It’s history worth remembering.”
Another commenter reminded the former “Fox and Friends” host that his actions are far beneath the country he represents.
“Delete this post,” Kay Baba wrote. “You lead one of the most consequential offices in arguably the world’s only superpower, and this kind of mockery diminishes the dignity of that office.”
One Canadian journalist gave Hegseth a scolding that summed up the outrageousness of his post.
“Am I seeing this right. Is the US secretary of defence trying to shame cadets in Vernon?” journalist Terry Reith asked on X. “These are cadets, high school kids. How dare you be such a complete asshole to imply this is our military, and shame on you for body shaming our young people. This is reprehensible.”
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MeidasTouch’s Ron Filipkowski got personal. “Scumbag,” he wrote.
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