Pete Hegseth attacks 'woke ideology', says 'you can't throw your pronouns at the enemy'

WEST POINT, NEW YORK: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a rain-soaked commencement speech at United States Military Academy to deliver one of his sharpest public attacks yet on diversity and identity politics in the military, telling graduating cadets that warfare “isn’t fought with pronouns” and declaring the Army’s “slow slide” into political correctness was over.

Standing before graduating cadets Saturday, May 23, Hegseth mixed traditional military rhetoric with culture war messaging, repeatedly criticizing DEI programs, gender-focused policies and what he described as years of weakened standards inside America’s armed forces.

Pete Hegseth slams identity politics

The loudest applause remarks came when Hegseth mocked identity politics while emphasizing battlefield readiness.

“The battlefield does not grade on a curve, and you can’t throw your pronouns at the enemy,” he told cadets. “Combat is the ultimate test, and our best Americans must ace it.”

Hegseth framed global conflict as a direct competition between major powers, warning graduates that adversaries were closely watching the United States military.

“Our competitors, near-peer adversaries across the globe are trying to best us,” he said. “They want to out-innovate us, out-build us, and defeat us by whatever means necessary.”

He urged cadets to rapidly adapt to evolving warfare technologies, including drones, artificial intelligence and advanced air defense systems.

“When the call comes, either we’re ready, and your soldiers are ready, or you are not,” Hegseth warned.

The Pentagon chief also stressed battlefield innovation at the unit level, arguing that future wars would reward speed and adaptability more than bureaucracy. 

“Innovation at a moment’s notice is the difference between success and failure,” he said.

Pete Hegseth says 'woke Princeton' era is over

A major section of the speech focused on Hegseth’s long-running criticism of diversity, equity and inclusion programs inside the military.

The former Fox News host accused previous military leadership of weakening discipline while pushing political ideology into military culture.

“You’ve seen standards lowered, you’ve seen an obsession with race and gender, you’ve seen the watering down of discipline,” he told graduates. He claimed military traditions had been undermined “in the name of political correctness.”

The defense secretary also took a direct swipe at elite universities, including his own alma mater, Princeton University. “Woke and weak leaders tried to transform this institution into woke Princeton,” Hegseth declared. 

“They embraced the DEI craze and tried to introduce diversity and inclusion studies,” he continued. “Success here is based on merit. It’s how you perform that matters.”