The crowd of U.S. Army soldiers at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg roared their response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he trashed the “woke garbage” that he’s promised to root out and remove from the American military.
Hegseth, fresh off his testimony before the House Appropriations Committee earlier in the day on Tuesday, joined President Donald Trump at Fort Bragg to honor the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday. Hegseth repeated some of the same priorities and goals he’d laid out on Capitol Hill — and the soldiers voiced their apparent approval in loud cheers.
WATCH:
. @SecDef “Standards, accountability, readiness, training, war fighting, lethality.
We’re not a college or university.
We’re not interested in your WOKE GARBAGE or your POLITCIAL CORRECTNESS.” pic.twitter.com/HHxcwaxm5D
— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) June 10, 2025
“So at the Defense Department, we’re doing three critical things at [President Trump’s] direction,” Hegseth began. “Number one, we’re restoring the Warrior Ethos.”
A few shouts could be heard from the crowd: “Yeah!!”
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“We’re getting back to basics,” Hegseth said, laughing a little at the outbursts, and then louder cheers followed.
“Standards, accountability, readiness, training, war fighting, lethality. We’re not a college or university. We’re not interested in your woke garbage or your political correctness,” he said — and the crowd erupted in wild cheers and applause.
President Trump also spoke to the troops — and got a few laughs himself when he mocked former President Joe Biden for changing the name of the base.
WATCH:
. @POTUS “It’s a beautiful sight to be with you in a place called Fort Bragg.” pic.twitter.com/bf8NgT4MK2
— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) June 10, 2025
“It’s a beautiful sight to be with you in a place called Fort … Bragg,” Trump said, his tone dropping as he emphasized the last word, prompting raucous cheers and applause.
“Can you believe they changed that name in the last administration for a little bit?” Trump asked when the cheers died down, and loud boos from the crowd quickly followed. “But we — we’ll forget all about that, won’t we? We’re gonna forget all about it.”