Canada Mocks America as Hegseth Fat-Shames Youth Cadet Instructor

Why is the defense secretary more worried about fat-shaming women than the war we’ve been waging for over six months?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken it upon himself to insult Canadian teenagers and their instructors. Canada is laughing in his face.

On Monday night, Hegseth reposted an image from Vernon Cadet Training Center in British Columbia of an officer in the Cadet Instructors Cadre presenting a young cadet with a medal at the end of a summer cadet training session. The defense secretary captioned the image with a Canadian flag emoji and, in parentheses, “(this is real).”

The Canadian Cadet Program is a federally funded youth development program for Canadians between the ages of 12 and 18 focused on leadership, citizenship, and community service. They are not members of the military.

Hegseth’s post was immediately condemned online, as commenters accused the secretary of body shaming the instructor and young cadet. Fred Wellman, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Missouri’s 2nd district, wrote, “You’re mocking kids. This is a junior cadet program. What a pathetic small man you are.” Amy Coplan, a California State University Fullerton philosophy professor, added, “Is bullying Canadian teenagers more important than attending to our ever-deteriorating situation in Iran?”

Some responses to Hegseth’s post used the defense secretary’s own style against him, writing “(this is real)” with the American flag alongside images of President Trump with Jeffery Epstein and Hegseth himself soaked in champagne.

Perhaps the greatest insult came from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney himself, who said Tuesday that the post was “beneath their office.”

“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having the discussions, we can have those discussions,” Carney told reporters. “It’s not constructive, but that’s their democracy.”

Despite the defense secretary’s blatant body-shaming, the Pentagon stands by his every word. “The X post speaks for itself,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Jacob Bliss said.

The whole exchange marks yet another escalation in the Trump administration’s ongoing feud with Canada, during which Trump has levied a trade war against our northern neighbors, thrown insults across the border, posted ridiculous memes, and changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

Trump Now Splurging on White House Bowling Alley—With Taxpayer Money

In the middle of a war, the president is obsessing over construction projects.

Donald Trump has decided to take another sledgehammer to the White House—this time on the taxpayer’s dime.

The General Services Administration, under the White House’s guidance, has awarded government contracts to renovate the two-lane Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Politico reported Monday. On July 28, the GSA awarded nearly $253,000 to Charles Mann Enterprises to do some lighting work in the exclusive recreational spot. Weeks later, on August 18, the agency awarded the contractor another $8,800 for escort services to shuttle workers in and out of sensitive government areas.

Somehow, the development has not rattled budget-conscious Republicans in the slightest, despite the party’s previous aversion to the site’s renovation.

The last major renovation project proposed for the bowling alley was announced under President Barack Obama in 2014. At the time, the GSA told Time magazine that the lanes needed a rebuild as they were “irreparable.”

Hours after the article’s publication, the proposed renovation turned into a Washington brouhaha. Republican........

© New Republic