Trump praises Pete Hegseth as 'great military leader' at White House governors' dinner address

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Saturday, February 21, praised Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as an "incredible inspiration" and a "great military leader" during the annual White House Governors' Dinner.

President Trump credited Hegseth with overseeing a historic surge in military recruitment that has eliminated previous shortfalls and created waiting lists for the first time in years.

Donald Trump praises Pete Hegseth

President Trump took a moment to praise Pete Hegseth and thank him for his leadership. 

Trump described the Secretary of War as a key figure who has motivated people to serve their country again.

He also told the governors that Hegseth has been "absolutely fantastic" in his role.

"And speaking of leaders, we have a great leader, a great military leader named Pete Hegseth and he is going to say grace. He's a man who turned out to be absolutely fantastic at what he does and you know what he does and uh he is uh he's turned out to be an incredible inspiration to the men and women in our military," Trump said. 

Donald Trump talks about turnaround in military recruitment

A major part of the president’s speech focused on how much the military has changed over the last year and a half. 

Trump claimed that when he first returned to office, the country was "dead" and no one wanted to join the military, police, or fire departments. He said that today, the situation is the exact opposite.

"Uh again a year and a half ago, two years ago, we couldn't get anybody to go into the military. We couldn't get them for the police, for the military, for anything, for firefighters, anything with a uniform on, Governor. Right. And now we're setting records in every even police departments, police departments, fire departments," Trump stated. 

He added that the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, and Coast Guard are now so popular that they have waiting lists of people trying to join.

Donald Trump connects patriotism to military gains

Trump concluded his remarks by saying that the current success of the country and the military is due to a renewed sense of patriotism. 

He invited Hegseth to lead the room in prayer, noting that the high recruitment numbers are a result of "spirit and love for our country."

"We went from a year and a half ago, nobody wanted to join. We could not even come close to our recruitment numbers and now we're setting records. We have never had anything like it and all it is is spirit and love for our country. It's very simple," Trump explained.