President Trump said Tuesday ahead of a speech to the military's top brass — convened at a highly unusual gathering in Virginia — that he would fire any generals he disliked "on the spot."
Why it matters: Paired with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's speech urging military leaders to embrace the new MAGA military or resign, Trump's comment lays bare his intention of bringing in new generals he views as more aligned with him.
Driving the news: Trump made the comment to reporters at the White House before he headed to a Marine Corps base in Virginia, where Hegseth was giving a speech on the need for a less constrained and less "woke" military.
- "For too long, we've promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons, based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts," Hegseth said.
- Hegseth also said the military would be redefining "so-called toxic leadership, bullying and hazing to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second guessing."
- Toward the end of his remarks Hegseth said that if his message was "making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign."
What he's saying: After taking the stage, Trump noted the lack of applause. "If you don't like what I'm saying you can leave the room, of course there goes your rank, there goes your future," he said, to laughter from the assembled military leaders.
- "You just feel nice and loose, OK, because we're all on the same team."
- Later in the speech, he said: "You're all based on merit. We're not going to have somebody taking your place for political reasons, because they are politically correct, and you're not."
Go deeper: Hegseth sparks confusion with sudden summons of top generals
