Hegseth turns the Pentagon into a gym

The day before yesterday, Pete Hegseth, the self-proclaimed Secretary of War, wearing a grey T-shirt bearing the words ‘This is War’, began running up and down the stands at the Texas A&M stadium alongside the ROTC, the university’s military student organisation. His wife Jennifer was running alongside him too. He posted the image himself on X, capturing a mix of smiles and sweat during a morning training session that looks like something out of an old-fashioned Hollywood propaganda film, with the hero training with the troops before the sun has even risen. These scenes marked the first leg of the ‘Send Me Tour’, launched to engage university students and veterans under an evocative title that draws on the biblical passage from Isaiah 6:8, in which, in response to God’s question ‘Whom shall I send?’, the prophet replies: ‘Here am I, send me’.

The image, which recalls Vannacchia’s aesthetic, perfectly captures the kind of war Hegseth wants to wage: an internal cultural battle involving banned beards, physical fitness tests and the purging of officers deemed too ‘woke’. Meanwhile, however, the conflict with Iran – of which he was one of the principal architects – is producing results that are increasingly difficult to defend, despite the physical selection process. A few days ago at the Pentagon, Hegseth also hosted former YouTubers and boxers Jake and Logan Paul—controversial figures who fit perfectly into the MAGA narrative, were it not for the fact that nobody knows the real reason for their visit. Jake Paul, who has various pending legal issues, also inexplicably met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The gesture echoes Hegseth’s decision to fly Kid Rock in an Apache helicopter after reinstating the crew suspended for flying low over his house. The American media, even the most conservative outlets, are beginning to criticise Hegseth openly; yet he (and Trump) appear unperturbed. The important thing is always to choose the easiest path – namely, that of the cameras – leaving the real quagmires to others.