As Secretary of War Pete Hegseth prepared for an address to senior military leaders today in Virginia, he was also dealing with fears about being assassinated, according to a report in the Daily Mail. In fact, one source told the outlet: “Dude is crawling out of his skin.”
One other source also told the Mail about Hegseth’s assassination concerns. These come amid the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month. President Donald Trump survived multiple assassination attempts while on the campaign trail last year.
Per the Mail’s report, Hegseth has been “erupting in tirades,” for weeks. He’s also allegedly been “raging at staffers and obsessing about matters related to his security.”
Hegseth addressed military leaders at Quantico Tuesday and outlined 10 new combat directives involving physical fitness and grooming. During his address, Hegseth criticized “fat troops” and said that he planned to use U.S. cities as military training grounds.
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops,” he said. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.”
In the days leading up to the meeting, Hegseth was “manic,” according to one of the Daily Mail’s sources. It also reported that the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has removed agents from their posts to safeguard Hegseth’s homes in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.
“There’s a manic quality about him. Or let me rephrase, an even more manic quality, which is really saying something,” a Daily Mail insider said. The sources also said this behavior has been impacting Hegseth’s policy decisions, including his decision to order every military official above the rank of one-star general to fly to Virginia for the meeting this week.
“Military experts have warned that the move could leave American forces dangerously exposed, as their leaders briefly leave their posts to return to the U.S.,” said The Independent.
Political analyst David Rothkopf revealed on The Daily Beast Podcast that the move has been seen as a “waste of time.” Some were also worried that the meeting would kick off a wave of firings. The Independent said it approached the Department of War for comment.
Hegseth was a controversial pick to lead the then-Department of Defense earlier this year. His nomination was met with backlash from Democrats and even some skepticism from Republicans.
So far this year, Hegseth has made headlines for the Signal messaging app scandal involving war plans accidentally texted to a journalist as well as his move to end the ‘Women, Peace & Security’ (WPS) program and institute new standards for women in combat roles. He also went from being the secretary of defense to the secretary of war this year when the department went through a name change reportedly linked to Hegseth’s “warrior ethos” campaign.
“Today, we end the War on Warriors,” said Hegseth in a Tuesday morning X post.
CBS News Radio Correspondent Michael Wallace joined Audacy station WCCO to weigh in on Hegseth’s address Tuesday.
“He wrote a book about making warriors tougher. And his line is, previous administrations with political correctness have allowed more women into combat roles, many of which he think should not be in there,” Wallace said.