Pete Hegseth Uses Transphobic Slur — Yet Again — in Official Speech to Troops
His description and use of anti-LGBTQ+ slurs sounds like a problematic Grindr bio.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth again reverted to spewing anti-trans slurs in a speech he made earlier this week to military personnel.
On Tuesday, Hegseth gave what he said was the “State of the Force” address to officers in Quantico, Virginia, where he confirmed he had cut 20% of general and admiral roles across the military.
He said he did so to cut out any “woke” ideology in the ranks.
Hegseth has been criticized for firing Black and women military officers and blocking some of their promotions.
“We are no longer the woke department, or the weak department,” he told the crowd.
“Simple translation of that? No fatties. No fatties, no tr***ies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors,” he said, using a transphobic slur.
LGBTQ Nation reports that this is at least the third time Hegseth has used the slur in public speeches this year.
Hegseth has supported President Donald Trump’s anti-trans military ban, which has pushed out transgender military members and blocked trans people from enlisting.
He also took the opportunity to boast about his testosterone testing.
“The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in with testosterone testing on top,” he said.
While attacking gender-affirming care, Hegseth has introduced testosterone testing for troops and hormone therapy for cisgender men who are deemed to not have enough testosterone to be part of the military.
“No more silly PowerPoint trainings or drag queen shows,” he told those present. “No more diversity quotas, no more gender pronouns, no more identity months, only the warrior ethos.”
Hegseth also announced the creation of an office of religious affairs at the Pentagon.
“Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armor of God, because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual,” he said, the Associated Press reports.
The defense secretary also announced that Elon Musk will be rejoining the Trump administration to study the future of warfare called Project Meridian. Musk was behind the cutting of billions of dollars across the federal government as the leader of the chaotic and often not transparent “department of government efficiency” or DOGE.
