The hosts of The View went after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, blasting his remarks on military fitness standards as “fat-shaming.”
Hegseth, speaking before hundreds of commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, criticized what he called “fat troops” and said overweight generals and admirals were “a bad look” for the Pentagon. He also announced that all combat personnel would now be required to meet the highest male physical standard to maintain their positions.
“Why is he obsessed with fat?” Joy Behar asked, with Sunny Hostin quickly adding, “And fitness.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin noted that the military had recently overcome a recruitment crisis and finally hit its goals in 2024 and 2025. “I don’t understand why we have to denigrate the military to try to talk about doing better,” she said. “I did not like that Pete Hegseth, who did serve his country, chose to denigrate the service of others.”
Behar interjected again, calling it “fat-shaming,” while Hostin argued the speech was confusing and poorly timed. “The optics were terrible,” she said. Hostin added that Hegseth’s push for tougher physical standards sounded like “implementing a hazing policy” instead of motivating the troops.
Alongside the fitness announcement, Hegseth also vowed to eliminate “woke” diversity measures and lift restrictions on the use of lethal force. He told officers who disagreed with his vision to resign.
“If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” Hegseth said. “We would thank you for your service. But I suspect the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full.”