Pete Hegseth criticized for bodyshaming Canadian cadets: ‘Literally they’re kids’
Sep 02, 2026
US defense secretary faces backlash for attempting to mock Canada’s armed forces amid trade warA social media post by Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, body-shaming female members of a Canadian youth development program remained online on Wednesday despite a furious backlash on both sides
of the border.On Monday night, Hegseth posted on X a photograph of two people in uniform with a Canadian flag and the caption “this is real”, an apparent attempt at mocking the country’s armed forces amid the Trump administration’s trade spat with its northern neighbor. Continue reading... ...read more read less