Pete Hegseth Trolls Canadian Female Cadets Amid Turmoil at His Department of Defense

Kathianne BonielloSep 1st, 2026, 8:28 am
 
Pete Hegseth

(AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth chose to mock female Canadian cadets on X Monday night — the same day his Army Secretary walked out the door.

While his department has apparently been reeling from deep cuts to leadership that Hegseth has enacted for months, the defense secretary took the time to post a screenshot from the Instagram account of the Vernon Cadet Training Centre, featuring a smiling cadet shaking hands with an instructor while receiving a medal. 

“(This is real,)” Hegseth captioned the post alongside a Canadian flag emoji, which was posted at 9:08 p.m. and had garnered more than 4.2 million views by Tuesday morning.

One X user pointed out the cadets are typically kids ages 12 to 17, while the woman on the right was likely a volunteer instructor.

Hegseth’s post received quick condemnation.

“Just a vile, insecure scumbag and a disgrace to the US military,” wrote Ron Filipkowski, editor of MeidasTouch.
“Am I seeing this right. Is the US secretary of defence trying to shame cadets in Vernon? These are cadets, high school kids. How dare you be such a complete *sshole to imply this is our military, and shame on you for body shaming our young people. This is reprehensible,” Canadian journalist Terry Reith posted on X.

A member of the Canadian House of Commons responded to Hegseth’s trolling by reminding Hegseth of the history of partnership between the United States and Canada, which are embroiled in a nasty trade war.

“Cadets do great work, and are not members of the military. 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,” Garnett Genuis wrote on X.

Hegseth’s slam came after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll went to President Donald Trump directly and “expressed concern” about the depth of the department’s leadership purge under Hegseth, according to a report in The Atlantic. 

Driscoll’s departure was first reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

The Army’s leadership deficit is so stark, the service has “fewer generals than at any point in recent history,” The Atlantic reported, despite having 450,000 active-duty soldiers.

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