Trump’s Military Gathering Draws Side-Eye For Bizarre “N-Word” Remark And Political Messaging

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals Sept. 30, in an unusual, last-minute meeting at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. While the gathering was presented as a strategic assembly of top military brass, it largely appeared aimed at reinforcing the administration’s conservative platform.

Following Hegseth’s remarks, Trump delivered a lengthy and meandering speech that touched on nuclear submarines, immigration, and his frustrations over not receiving a Nobel Peace Prize.

One of his comments quickly drew attention. “We can’t let people throw around that word. I call it the N-word. There are two N-words and you can’t use either of them,” Trump said, in a riff on the term “nuclear.”

Outlets such as TMZ noted that he has used versions of this joke in the past.

During his address, Trump also mocked former President Joe Biden’s reliance on autopen, lamented that he has not been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize—contrasting himself with Barack Obama, who received it in 2009—and claimed that “we’re under invasion from within” in regards to immigration.

“We’ve had no people enter in the last four months,” Trump falsely claimed.

The president also boasted of federal interventions in cities such as Washington, D.C., and touted his move to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, though the change lacks congressional approval. He compared the rebranding effort to his past attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Hegseth, who now refers to himself as Secretary of War, used his speech to push back against diversity and equity programs in the military. He announced new policy shifts aimed at “normalizing standards regardless of race or gender” while condemning measures he views as detrimental to readiness.

Under his leadership, multiple women and minority officers have been removed from leadership roles, and training materials tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion have been scrapped.

Hegseth also derided “fat troops” and revealed looser guidelines that would permit drill sergeants to “put their hands on recruits.”

The high-profile meeting, which pulled military leaders from across the globe, has been criticized as an expensive political exercise meant to highlight the administration’s culture war and anti-DEI priorities.

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