Why did Frank Kendall think he could get away with such a blatant lie? One that could be so easily, utterly, debunked? Did he assume that the only people who watch Nicolle Wallace's show are fellow lefties who would nod their heads in agreement no matter how outlandish the hogwash he might spew?

Notice to liberals who might be tempted to follow in Frank's foolish footsteps: we're out here, watching. NewsBusters' mission is to expose and counter liberal media bias. We, along with other conservative outlets, monitor MSNBC and CNN. You're very unlikely to get away with such a pathetic, transparent fabrication.

We're referring to the fact that on Tuesday's episode of MSNBC's Deadline White House, former Biden Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, now a member of the hard-left Center for American Progress, commenting on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's speech to military leaders, claimed: 

"The imaginary, woke military he described, which does not and never has existed, was a bunch of nonsense." 

In the clip host Nicolle Wallace aired, here's how Hegseth described the woke military :

"No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses."

Fact check:

Identity Months: Check! Before Hegseth abolished them, the US military used official resources to host celebrations and events for: National African American/Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month.  

DEI Offices: Check! Before President Trump issued an Executive Order ending them, there were DEI offices and programs throughout the military, employing as many as 188 people. Every branch of the military had a DEI office. In 2021, the Air Force was the first to create one, pursuant to the orders of then Secretary of the Air Force--Frank Kendall.

As reported by Fox News, in 2023, The Air Force was looking for a "supervisory diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility officer for Air Force headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, which will pay anywhere from $155,700 to $183,500 per year." The person who fills this position will serve as a "first-level supervisor" who will direct employees assigned to the Air Force’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Similar positions were being filled across the country.

Other DEI efforts before the Trump administration ended them included mandatory seminars for cadets in military academies that included "structures of white power" and "white rage."

At the Air Force Academy, under Kendall's authority:

Cadets were taught to use gender-neutral and inclusive language, such as "parents," "caregivers," or "guardians" instead of "mom and dad". DEI training was required and included topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement, "white fragility," and the 1619 Project. The academy offered a Diversity and Inclusion Studies minor that focused on gender, sexuality, and race."Eyes and Ears" program: Reports indicate the existence of programs encouraging cadets to report private conversations that contradicted DEI principles.

Dudes in Dresses: Check! For example, view the photo here of members of the military's LGBTQ organization posing with the then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter at the end of Obama's second term. Shown are biological men in skirts, and biological women dressed as men. 

Come to think of it, Frank: your lie, juxtaposed with illustrations of the facts, could be the makings of some good TV commercials in '26 and '28!

Here's the transcript.

MSNBC
Deadline White House
9/30/25
4:22 pm EDT

PETE HEGSETH: Should our enemies choose, foolishly, to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision and ferocity of the War Department. In other words, to our enemies, FAFO.

No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. Likewise, it's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It's a bad look. It is bad, and it's not who we are. 

NICOLLE WALLACE: Um, I feel mean calling on one of you to go first, but Secretary Kendall, I'll start with you. I have never heard of, I spent a lot of time in government and even more time now watching and covering government and national security, and I've never heard a Secretary of Defense boast about violence of the men and women of the American military. What did you hear there? 

FRANK KENDALL: I heard a person who really, frankly, shouldn't be in the job he's in. He was lecturing this group of generals and admirals and senior NCOs like a drill sergeant does about things that they don't need to be lectured about. We have an incredibly professional military. They don't need to be lectured to by Pete Hegseth about the sort of things he was talking about. 

He has emphasized violence and lethality from day one. American military behaves with principles under sets of values under the rule of law. And everybody in that room knows that, and they're very proud of that. 

So the tone that he set and the imaginary, woke military he described, which does not and never has existed, it was a bunch of nonsense. And again, everybody in the room understood that. This was a very embarrassing thing for the administration to do and for anybody to do in front of our officers.