‘PERFORMATIVE BS’

Pentagon Pete Savagely Mocked for Desperate Jogging Flex

Pete Hegseth forced military members to run laps with him around the Pentagon in a cringe-worthy social media stunt.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has posted yet another cringe workout video.

Hegseth recruited hundreds of military personnel to run around the Pentagon with him, wearing matching shirts reading “THIS IS WAR.”

The Defense Department posted two videos of Hegseth leading the crew in an early morning jog.

The Pentagon also released a video of Hegseth, while seemingly out of breath at times, giving members of the military a pep talk of sorts.

“Last year, when we gave a speech at Quantico—we launched the War Department golden rule: Do unto your formation that which you would have done unto your son or daughter’s formation,” Hegseth declared, which he said translates to “no games, no gimmicks, no low standards, and no excuses.”

During the Quantico speech in question, Hegseth flew in military leaders from around the world to Virginia so he could rail against “fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon” and said that military leaders will need to meet height and weight standards and pass physical training, or PT, tests each year.

“It all starts with physical fitness and appearance,” Hegseth told the gathered generals. “If the Secretary of War can do regular, hard PT, so can every member of our joint force.”

After the jogging session, Hegseth boarded a helicopter to travel from the Pentagon to Quantico—just 33 miles apart—for this year’s rendition of his big speech.

But the bizarre series of videos featuring Hegseth and his crew running around the Pentagon is being called out, notably for the T-shirts, given how much the Trump administration has tried to assert that its war with Iran is somehow not a war.

“We are a ridiculous country,” HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Date responded.

“I laughed so hard at this. What performative bs” another user said.

“You realize he’s supposed to be the leader of a massive organization with like 2 million employees, critical to national security, not a mascot for the military?” another said. “This would be like if the CEO of Ford just spent all his time driving cars around the test track.”

It’s hardly the first time he has been flexing his workouts online.

The former Fox News weekend host has posted several videos throughout his tenure leading the military that supposedly highlight his manliness.

He’s posted videos of himself on a spin bike, bench pressing, and, more strangely, doing pull-ups on a tree with Dr. Oz.

He was also widely mocked for posting a video of himself doing push-ups and pull-ups with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in what they call “The Pete and Bobby Challenge.”

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Annabella RosciglioneReporter

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