Internet sides with Donald Trump as he vows to fire far-left 'woke' military leaders

WASHINGTON, DC: Former president Donald Trump has issued a stark reminder about a "woke" US military during an exclusive interview with 'Fox & Friends Weekend' as he threatened to fire "far-left" military leaders in response to criticism the Pentagon is receiving for celebrating Pride Month.

"I got to know the real fighting generals. There's not ‘woke’ in the military. There's ‘woke’ at the top," Trump said during the sit-down interview with hosts Pete Hegseth, Will Cain, and Rachel Campos-Duffy.

Donald Trump says 'you can't have a woke military' 

"They want there to be woke, but these guys aren't meant for woke. I would fire them. You can't have a woke military," the now-convicted felon continued, adding "You said it so great... You need people that want to win. They want to win wars. That's what their purpose is, to win wars, not to be woke… but we do have great military."

US Navy SEALs and Naval Special Warfare Command were mocked for marking the start of Pride Month

The official US Navy SEALs and Naval Special Warfare Command Facebook page was made fun of this past weekend for marking the start of Pride Month. The post received a lot of backlash after it was featured on the well-liked 'Libs of TikTok' page on X.

"Those are not the colors I care about. The colors I care about are red, white, and blue," Fox News' Pete Hegseth told Ainsley Earhardt on Monday, June 3. "We all wore green together. We all bleed red together. Who we slept with is not the issue... The issue is how good are you at your job? And are you being promoted because you're the best rifleman, or you're the best pilot, or you're the best tank commander? Not are you the first to this or are you the first that? And that's the story I tell time and time again," Earhardt added.

'Libs of TikTok terms  Navy SEALs 'woke'

Libs of TikTok shared the post to X on Saturday, June 1, writing, "The Navy SEALs have gone woke. Our elite special forces. This is terrifying."

The post triggered a wave of criticism from those who were worried about how the military's priorities had affected its military readiness since recruiting is still a challenge for almost every branch of the military. 

"I talked to dozens and dozens of actively serving men and women, junior enlisted high-ranking officers, and they all said the same thing," Hegseth said.

"We're walking on eggshells. There's no accountability. The standards are being lowered, slowly eroded to conform to woke Marxist ideologies the Democrat politicians have pushed into the Pentagon. Pentagon should be the biggest meritocracy in the world. Instead, it's a social experiment," he added. 

The Army, Air Force, and Navy all missed their recruitment goals last year

However, far-left ideologues who put "woke" agendas ahead of military preparedness are to blame for the Army, Air Force, and Navy's failure to meet their recruitment targets last year, which alarmed critics. The Army announced earlier this year the service is cutting its force by about 24,000 in a restructuring that it says will help the service fight in future wars.

About five percent of the jobs that will be eliminated come from counterinsurgency positions, cavalry squadrons, Stryker brigade combat teams, infantry brigade combat teams, and security force assistance brigades, positions that are used to train foreign forces, rather than from actual soldiers.

What did a Pentagon official say?

The US military missed its recruiting goals in 2023 by 41,000, going into the new year facing a recruiting crisis, a Pentagon official said in December.

"A commander-in-chief needs to be focused on winning the wars we fight, and that means installing leadership at the Pentagon who are laser-focused on that," Hegseth said, adding "Unfortunately, the incentives for generals under the Biden administration and the Obama administration was to conform to ideologies of leftist politicians who were ramming stuff into the Pentagon that has nothing to do with winning wars."

"What is your gender? What is your race? DEI, CRT, are we driving electric tanks? Are we saving the climate with the military? None of that is important to the men and women who I served with. We were focused on succeeding in the mission we were given," he continued. 

"The Pentagon likes to say our diversity is our strength. What a bunch of garbage. In the military, our diversity is not our strength. Our unity is our strength, and we need a commander in chief that understands that. Donald Trump certainly does. Getting woke out will go a long way in making sure we're the top in the world," he added. 

Internet agrees with Donald Trump, slams US military 

Netizens seemingly agreed with the 77-year-old and many of them lashed out at the US military because of their alleged 'woke' culture. One X user tweeted, "Good we have such a weekend and embarrassing military right now!." Another added, "Our military is a complete disgrace." "Sanity must be restored!" echoed one. 

"I am sure the Rank and File will agree with that, Most didn't join to be a poster child for societal shifts and political projects," opined one while another tweeted, "Our military needs to know more than laying in a ditch and blowing." "Exactly, no one is afraid of us anymore," agreed one user. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.