Pete Hegseth criticized for body-shaming Canadian cadets: ‘Literally they’re kids’

<p>US defense secretary faces backlash for attempting to mock Canada’s armed forces amid trade war</p><p>A social media post by Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, body-shaming female members of a Canadian youth development program remained online on Wednesday despite a furious backlash on both sides of the border.</p><p>On Monday night, Hegseth <a href="https://x.com/PeteHegseth/status/2094593108755562927">posted on X</a> a photograph of two people in uniform with a Canadian flag and the caption “this is real”, an apparent attempt at mocking the country’s armed forces amid the Trump administration’s trade spat with its northern neighbor.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/02/pete-hegseth-body-shaming-post">Continue reading...</a>