Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling had nothing good to say about Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speeches before the Pentagon’s senior leadership on Tuesday — and hammered them both for talking down to the troops.
Hertling, who serves as a military analyst for MSNBC, has been a critic of Hegseth’s unusual Quantico gathering since it was announced last week, and he apparently saw nothing that changed his mind.
Speaking with host Anna Cabrera, he admitted that some of the things Hegseth was proposing and Trump claimed left him speechless.
“I'm hard-pressed to put together my thoughts on this, Anna, to be honest with you,” he began. “I, first of all, I think we ought to address the atmospherics. We're talking about a huge American flag behind the speakers that's reminiscent of the opening scene from the movie ‘Patton,’ which President Trump has said he absolutely loves.”
He then added, “Well, when I first started listening to the speech, I found my mouth open. I just couldn't believe some of the things that were being said to this group of individuals who have such experience.”
“And one last thing I'd say, Anna, the thing I've got to stick up for is the defense of the American military, the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines — I've never served with with Space Force Guardians,” he added. “But those four services I've had the opportunity to serve with, not only in combat, but on the joint staff and in various assignments through my career: there are no finer human beings across our force. There is a reason why the other armies of the world say we are the best on the globe. They are well-trained, well-disciplined, and they swear an oath to the Constitution.”
“And I just really find it offensive that anyone is insulting them and claiming that their promotions and their advancement through the services are a result of policies of wokeness or DEI, because that's just not true. Those are my thoughts on what I've heard so far,” he concluded.
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