A photo of the Texas National Guard stationed in Chicago went viral, prompting ridicule and an official military response.
Protests in Chicago as federal judge reviews Trump’s military deployment
Hundreds of people protested in Chicago as a federal judge considered halting President Trump’s deployment of troops.
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told hundreds of military leaders last week that he was “tired” of seeing “fat troops.”
Once the Texas National Guard arrives in Chicago, he may be exhausted.
Days after a photo of a large group of troops arriving in Chicago from Texas on President Donald Trump’s controversial orders drew ridicule online, the National Guard announced that soldiers who fail to meet height and weight standards will be removed from active duty.
The viral photo, taken by ABC News, showed several heavily stocked Guardsmen in uniform jumping out of a truck with rifles and duffel bags during a deployment to the city earlier this week.
It exploded online. ABC’s original post was viewed 28.8 million times.
The comments section was filled with puns and mockery, ranging from the creative to the cruel.
“Activating the Guard was actually a plot to ultimately activate the National Guard,” the top comment on Reddit read.
“The only thing that kills me is deep dish pizza,” commented X.
In a statement sent to reporters on Oct. 9, the National Guard said any deployed troops who do not meet “height, weight and physical fitness standards” will be sent home and replaced.
“In the rare event that a member is found to be non-compliant, the member will be removed from duty. The member will be returned to home base and replaced by a replacement who meets standards,” the statement said.
Hegseth says seeing ‘fat troops’ is ‘disgusting’
That came just days after Hegseth ordered high-ranking generals and admirals to travel to Quantico, Virginia, to hear for 45 minutes about his vision of the “warrior spirit” and to admonish the Pentagon for overstepping its physical standards.
“Frankly, I get tired of seeing large groups of troops in combat formations, or any formations,” he says.
“It doesn’t look good.”
In a memo released after the speech, he required all members of the joint force to pass twice-yearly fitness, height and weight tests and to engage in “really hard” physical training every day — “I’m not talking about hot yoga or stretching or anything like that.”
This is a common topic for Hegseth, who frequently posts videos on social media of himself doing push-ups and pull-ups with troops. On October 4, as troops prepared to enter Chicago, he attempted push-ups in front of the cameras at a military football game.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who sued the Trump administration over the troop deployment two days later, criticized Hegseth on social media, saying, “While the people of Illinois were being invaded by Trump’s troops, Pete Hegseth was busy ignoring his job and doing push-ups as part of the Guinness World Records show.”
In response, Hegseth wrote, “Governor, why don’t you try doing a push-up or two…(Meanwhile, our troops will do the job you refused to do).”
The deployment of the National Guard to Chicago and Portland is being challenged in court by local Democratic leaders who say the presence of the National Guard is unjustified and an abuse of federal power.
The Trump administration says the military is needed to protect immigration enforcement facilities and staff from protesters.
