Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly sparked a wave of criticism Monday night after sharing a social media post appearing to mock female Canadian cadets, as his department faces questions over major cuts to its leadership ranks.
Hegseth posted a screenshot from the Instagram account of Canada’s Vernon Cadet Training Centre showing a smiling cadet shaking hands with an instructor while receiving a medal.
“(This is real,)” Hegseth wrote alongside a Canadian flag emoji.
The post was published on X at 9:08 p.m. Monday and had attracted more than 4.2 million views by Tuesday morning.
One social media user noted that Canadian cadets are generally children between the ages of 12 and 17. The woman pictured on the right side of the image was likely serving as a volunteer instructor, according to the user.
Hegseth’s message quickly drew sharp condemnation from several commentators in the United States and Canada.
Ron Filipkowski, editor of MeidasTouch, described the defense secretary as a “vile, insecure scumbag” and called him a disgrace to the U.S. military.
Canadian journalist Terry Reith also blasted Hegseth, accusing him of attempting to shame high school-aged cadets in Vernon.
“Am I seeing this right. Is the US secretary of defence trying to shame cadets in Vernon?” Reith wrote. “These are cadets, high school kids.”
Reith said Hegseth was wrongly implying that those pictured represented the Canadian military and accused the defense secretary of body-shaming young people.
“This is reprehensible,” the journalist added.
Garnett Genuis, a member of the Canadian House of Commons, responded by emphasizing the longstanding military partnership between Canada and the United States. The two countries are currently locked in a bitter trade war.
“Cadets do great work, and are not members of the military,” Genuis wrote.
The lawmaker also pointed to the 158 members of the Canadian military who died in Afghanistan after the United States was attacked.
“Canada and the US have a great history of fighting together for freedom and justice,” Genuis said. “It’s history worth remembering.”
Hegseth’s controversial post came on the same day Army Secretary Dan Driscoll left his position amid reported tensions involving the defense secretary’s military leadership overhaul.
According to The Atlantic, Driscoll went directly to President Donald Trump and expressed concerns about the scale of the leadership purge Hegseth has overseen at the Defense Department.
Driscoll’s planned departure was first reported earlier this month by The Wall Street Journal.
The leadership shortage within the Army has reportedly reached historic levels following the cuts. The service now has fewer generals than at any other point in recent history, according to The Atlantic, despite maintaining approximately 450,000 active-duty soldiers.
Hegseth has carried out deep leadership reductions at the department for months. His decision to target the Canadian cadets on social media came as the Pentagon continues to deal with the fallout from those changes and the departure of the Army’s top civilian official.
Neither Hegseth’s original post nor the criticism quoted in the article offered further context about why he selected the image from the Vernon Cadet Training Centre.
