Pete Hegseth reveals why military recruitment has soared under Trump
Joining 'Fox & Friends' live from Normandy, France, where Allied forces once stormed the beaches to turn the tide of World War II, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth honored the 81st anniversary of D-Day with a message that looked not only to the past but to the future.
As the nation honors the bravery and sacrifices of World War II veterans, Hegseth emphasized a new wave of patriotism among today's young Americans – one he says is driving an uptick in military recruitment.
Advertisement
'It's historic. Of course it's a morale shift. It shifts back to the day President Trump was elected and then inaugurated,' he said Friday.
The Army alone has posted the best recruiting numbers in years, reaching 61,000 for fiscal year 2025, with four months remaining. That's an increase of more than 6,000 from 55,150 in fiscal year 2024.
Hegseth told co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade that the spirit inside the U.S. armed forces is 'incredible' right now, and the morale shift isn't isolated to the Army.
'It's also the Air Force, it's also the Navy, it is also the Marine Corps, Coast Guard and, as the president says, law enforcement,' he continued.
Advertisement
4 Pete Hegseth emphasized a new wave of patriotism driving military recruitment under Donald Trump while on Fox & Friends discussing the D-Day 81st anniversary ceremony in Normandy.
FOX News
'Across the board, the spirit of our country, [there's a] willingness and desire to serve, because they see leadership that believes in the country that's going to have their back, that says, 'We want you to be warriors. We're not doing this politically correct garbage anymore. We're doing war fighting. We're training, we're preparing, we're focused on [getting] back to basics, and… the young people of America have responded, and they'll continue to respond.'
4 'Across the board, the spirit of our country, [there's a] willingness and desire to serve, because they see leadership that believes in the country that's going to have their back,' Hegseth said.
AFP via Getty Images
4 Hegseth gives a speech during an International Commemorative Ceremony of the 81st Anniversary of the Landing of June 6, 1944, in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, north western France.
AFP via Getty Images
Advertisement
4 President Donald Trump and superintendent Lieutenant General Steven W. Gilland salute graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point in Michie Stadium on May 24 in West Point, NY.
Getty Images
Hegseth attended this year's ceremony where military officials and veterans commemorated the 81st anniversary of D-Day.
He started his morning with a physical training session with rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment on Omaha Beach at nearly the same time as the first landing craft would have hit in 1944.
'These men [World War II soldiers] were willing to charge toward the guns with almost no chance of success, especially in those first waves, and they did it for us,' he said.
Advertisement
Days ago, the defense secretary honored the sacrifices of U.S. armed forces at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where he greeted a number of World War II veterans whose resolve remains high more than half a century later.
'The contrast of those 100-year-old World War II vets and then those 25-year old Army Rangers that I did a workout with this morning – the blood of fighting for freedom still pumps in the veins of Americans, and we still raise those types, and that's what was really cool to see.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
38 minutes ago
- New York Post
Ted Cruz was with president when Musk's barrage of attacks started: ‘Trump was pissed'
Sen. Ted Cruz was with a fuming President Trump as Elon Musk viciously attacked his former ally online Thursday — with the Texas Republican saying the spat made him feel like he was a kid in the middle of a divorce. 'I was sitting in the Oval as this unfolded. Trump was pissed. He was venting,' the Republican senator revealed on his podcast 'Verdict with Ted Cruz' Friday. 'I was sitting there, and the tweets were coming…. Elon was saying some really harsh things.' The SpaceX and Tesla billionaire went on a multi-day social media offensive against Trump, panning the president's 'big, beautiful' reconciliation bill 'disgusting' and urging Congress to kill it. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk fumed after Trump spoke out about the simmering feud. Cruz, who's friends with both former bros, called their very public break-up this week 'incredibly painful.' 'These are two men whom I know very well, they're both good friends of mine,' he said. 3 President Trump and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk came to blows on social media this week, ending their bromance. AFP via Getty Images 'I feel like the kids of a bitter divorce where you're just saying, 'I really wish mommy and daddy would stop screaming.'' 3 Ted Cruz talked about the break-up this Friday on his podcast 'Verdict with Ted Cruz.' Verdict with Ted Cruz/Facebook Trump and Musk's tiff escalated later in the week — with Trump threatening to cancel billions of dollars in government contracts to Musk's companies and Musk claiming Trump was holding out on making the Jeffrey Epstein files public because he's in them. 3 Trump and Musk's tiff escalated later in the week. Getty Images 'It just went from zero to 11 instantaneously,' said Cruz. 'These are two alpha males who are pissed off. And unfortunately, they're unloading on each other … They're angry, it's not complicated.' Cruz and his co-host commented that they thought both men are right — Trump's big beautiful budget bill has to get passed but the government has to tackle the deficit more as Musk argued. 'Unfortunately, Elon is working under the assumption that Congress actually wants to do the job and save our country,' said podcast co-host Ben Ferguson. 'And I think Trump is working under the reality that there's a lot of people in Congress that actually aren't looking out for the American people.' Musk on Saturday deleted his post about the Epstein files in a sign he was ready to throw in the towel. But Trump made it clear he wasn't interested in kissing and making up anytime soon. 'I have no intention of speaking to him,' he told NBC News.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
The world is celebrating Pride in Washington, against the backdrop of Trump's White House.
Marching bands, floats and revelers festooned in rainbows and sparkles are expected to fill the streets of Washington on Saturday for one of the world's largest L.G.B.T.Q. festivals. The city holds a local Pride parade annually. But this year's event will be much bigger, as Washington hosts the WorldPride Parade, which attracts visitors from around the world. Sydney hosted it last time, and Amsterdam is up next. This year's location was decided before the 2024 election that brought Donald J. Trump back to the White House, which sits less than half a mile from where the parade's route will culminate on Saturday. The parade is not expected to attract as many people as organizers had hoped, with some international L.G.B.T.Q. groups deciding not to participate. Momentum for the event began to slow shortly after Mr. Trump's inauguration. Mr. Trump has issued executive orders restricting gender identities on travel documents and barring transgender people from serving in the military. He has also pushed the federal government to end its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and many private companies have followed his lead. He took over the Kennedy Center, demanding that the Washington-based arts venue stop hosting drag shows. Just this week, Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, ordered the Navy to consider removing the name of Harvey Milk, the gay rights icon, from one of its ships, arguing that the name may not reflect the nation's 'warrior ethos.' Some corporate sponsors of previous Pride parades pulled their funding this year or did not renew their financial support. Ryan Bos, the executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, said that corporate funding reached about only half of the fund-raising goal for WorldPride and that some sponsors who did offer funding asked that their logos not be prominently displayed. Even amid this climate, the WorldPride parade, which begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, is expected to be a joyful affair, according to its organizers. The day is scheduled to end with a performance on the Capitol Concert Stage by the actress and singer Cynthia Erivo. The parade has named three grand marshals: the actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, the lesbian performer Reneé Rapp and Deacon Maccubbin, who helped organize the city's first Pride parade 50 years ago outside his L.G.B.T.Q. bookstore, Lambda Rising. Peaches Christ, a drag queen from San Francisco, has been at WorldPride this week to host a performance by the International Pride Orchestra (which was originally set for the Kennedy Center but moved to the Music Center at Strathmore in Maryland). She said the energy at WorldPride has been 'electric.' 'The vibe this year is that Pride is a protest,' she said. 'The community is fired up and ready to fight.'
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Democrats see political trap in Trump's Biden probe
Democrats are warning members of their party not to fall into a political trap after President Trump ordered an investigation into former President Biden's mental state and executive actions at the end of his term. Trump directed his counsel, in consultation with the attorney general, to probe 'whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state' amid renewed scrutiny of his predecessor's age and health in the lead-up to last year's election. The probe threatens to keep an issue in the news that Democrats would like to move on from and could force them into the uncomfortable position of having to defend Biden despite his unpopularity. 'We need to avoid taking the bait for a totally unfounded political stunt, which is what this investigation is,' said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). 'It's a distraction from the problems that everyday Americans face in our economy: tariffs, rising prices and the 'Great Big, Beautiful Bill.'' Biden also cast the play as a distraction from controversy swirling around the current White House, pushing back sharply against Trump's suggestion that he was not the one making the decisions from the Oval Office. Trump's call for an investigation fixates on Biden's use of an autopen to sign executive actions, claiming that, if advisers 'secretly used' the mechanism 'to conceal his incapacity,' it would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of presidential power. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,' Biden said in a statement. 'This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.' On Capitol Hill, where Trump's House-passed spending bill is hitting snags in the Senate as Elon Musk feuds with Trump and calls to kill the legislation, other Democrats are echoing that framing. 'He's clearly trying to deflect attention from the disastrous effect he's had on the US economy,' said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). 'He only brings up Joe Biden when he's really worried about something, like 'Vladimir Putin is playing me and the world sees it. My tariffs thing is not working out.'' 'So I would say, give it as little attention as possible,' Kaine said, suggesting Democrats should turn the inquiry around on Trump and say, ''You're the president now. What about your evidence of mental decline?'' Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Ruben Gallego (D-N.M.) concurred that the move is a distraction from the bill and that Democrats should respond by drawing Americans' focus to the budget concerns instead. Engaging could also risk legitimizing some of Trump's claims about the end of Biden's term, suggested Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright. He called the push for an investigation 'a distraction pitch that Donald Trump is trying to throw down at the batter's box, hoping somebody will swing at it.' 'Anytime we fall into the trap, then we trap our own selves,' Seawright said of Democrats. 'We should focus on this moment and not try to get caught up into conversations that don't gain us anything electorally or politically.' Questions about Biden's age and health dogged him along the 2024 campaign trail, contributing to his eventual exit from the race. Trump, who railed against his two-time rival as 'Sleepy Joe' as they jostled for the White House, has continued to raise the issue, while Democrats seek to turn the page and look toward the midterms and 2028. Trump has repeatedly blasted Biden over his autopen use, questioning whether orders signed by his predecessor — including 11th-hour preemptive pardons for his family members and others to protect against 'politically motivated prosecutions' — are void as a result. The White House confirmed this week that the Department of Justice is reviewing Biden's pardons. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has also started its own inquiry into what Republicans have cast as a 'mental decline cover up.' This week, Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) demanded interviews from some of Biden's former top aides as well as his doctor, Kevin O'Connor. At the same time, new books, including 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again' from CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson, have renewed debate about his mental acuity. The scrutiny also comes after Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer last month. The diagnosis itself prompted questions about whether the timing was intended as a distraction and did little to quell talk about whether the 82-year-old should have dropped out of the race earlier. Republicans, for their part, are largely heralding the inquiries as a pursuit in transparency. 'The American people deserve to know who was making decisions from the White House between 2021-2025. I hope this investigation uncovers the truth,' Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said on X of Trump's probe. A number of Democrats seen as 2028 hopefuls, asked in recent weeks about the end of Biden's presidency, have acknowledged his weaknesses. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told an Iowa town hall last month that his then-boss's decision to run for reelection 'maybe' hurt Democrats, and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told Politico there's 'no doubt' Biden suffered cognitive decline. Across the board, though, Democrats have been pointing toward the future and hoping to move on from questions about their former party leader as they stare down the high-stakes midterms next year and aim for the White House in 2028. Biden's favorability was at 39 percent in the latest YouGov/The Economist polling, compared to Trump's 44 percent and former Vice President Harris's 42 percent. 'If Democrats shift their focus to this, then they risk further alienating and frustrating their base that is ready to put Biden behind them,' said Democratic strategist Fred Hicks. He pointed out Trump's public fallout this week with Musk, who's suggested that Trump's bill could be 'bankrupting America,' and suggested it could be opening for Democrats in their pushback against the administration. But although Democrats are pushing for the party to ignore not just the probe but the Biden discourse more broadly, many have acknowledged that the issue is likely to dog them through 2028 and could even be a political liability for some potential presidential contenders. Strategist Hank Sheinkopfinterpreted Trump's new probe not as a trap or bait, but as a direct attack, and countered some of his fellow Democrats by arguing that the party ought to respond. ''Take [Trump] on or lose in 2026' is really the reality which they don't want to deal with. They somehow believe that if they don't take them on, they'll win anyway,' Sheinkopf said of party leaders. 'What they want is [to say], 'Biden, we're not talking about that, that's the past.' But that's the present. So it's a delusional argument,' he said. 'Trump is making this the present. He's defining the Demcoratic Party by Biden, and the things he's going to say about Biden, whether they are true or not. So you can't let that stand.'
