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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced ridicule online after lagging behind troops during a morning workout in San Diego following his visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln, which recently returned from a long Middle Eastern deployment. Footage showed Hegseth struggling to keep up while others charged ahead and continued their training without him. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel mocked Hegseth’s appearance and actions on his show, with criticism also coming from former Republican representatives and the Lincoln Project PAC.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Pete Hegseth, a former Fox and Friends Weekend host and Defense Secretary under consideration, faced ridicule after struggling to keep up with military personnel during a training exercise on the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego. The 46-year-old joined marines for a morning workout where he noticeably trailed behind them while jogging and appeared breathless after doing pull-ups. Hegseth's previous statements about infusing the military with a "warrior ethos" and mandatory testosterone screenings were highlighted, drawing criticism online. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel also mocked him on social media.
Written for “Military Training Fiasco” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 67600 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-09
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been mocked online after failing to keep up with members of the military during a training exercise.
asserted
Hegseth → mock → exercise
The 46-year-old former Fox and Friends Weekend host visited the USS Abraham Lincoln Wednesday following its long deployment to the Middle East.
asserted
host → visit → East
That same day, he joined marines in San Diego for a morning workout.
asserted
he → join → workout
Footage from the event showed service members charging ahead as they jogged, with Hegseth noticeably trailing behind them.
asserted
Hegseth → show → them
At one point, after doing pull-ups, the other troops can be seen racing off to their next workout while a seemingly breathless Hegseth hangs back and high-fives those around him.
asserted
Hegseth → do → him
Hegseth, who has previously declared that he wants to infuse the military with a “warrior ethos” and has announced mandatory testosterone screening for personnel over the age of 30, was soon ridiculed online for his performance during the workout.
asserted
he → declare → workout
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel, who has long poked fun at members of President Trump’s cabinet, took aim at the secretary on Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
asserted
who → poke → Kimmel
“Our secretary of war and styling mousse, Pete Hegseth, was in San Diego today to personally greet the long-suffering crew of the USS Lincoln,” Kimmel joked.
asserted
Kimmel → greet → Lincoln
“Pretty Pete was right there waving his pocket square from the dock, welcoming our sailors home.”
asserted
Pete → wave → sailors
Kimmel also took a swipe at Hegseth over the twice-extended deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has played a major role in the U.S.’s war with Iran.
asserted
which → take → Iran
“And so, after almost seven months at sea, where they were attacked, they were hungry, they were miserable, there were multiple suicide attempts, they all just wanted to get back to their families,” Kimmel began.
asserted
Kimmel → attack → families
“But first, they had a workout - a group workout for a Fox News photo op with their leader, a man wearing shorts and more makeup than Kylie Jenner.
asserted
they → have → Jenner
The criticism even came from former members of Hegseth’s own party, with ex-Representative Barbara Comstock writing: “Who is working on protecting our troops and bring (sic) an end to the war?”
asserted
Who → come → war
“Get this loser @PeteHegseth a job at a MAGA gym,” she added.
asserted
she → get → gym
Adam Kinzinger, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump back in January 2021, simply tagged Hegseth in a video showing him lagging behind the other runners.
asserted
him → vote → runners
“Hey there @PeteHegseth,” he wrote.
asserted
he → write → ?
Meanwhile, The Lincoln Project, a PAC founded by Republicans opposed to Trump, pointed to an infamous speech by Hegseth in which he declared that he wanted “no fatties,” or “beardos” or “weirdos” in the military.
asserted
he → found → military
“I thought you said no fatties? @PeteHegseth,” a spokesperson for the account wrote on X.
asserted
spokesperson → think → X.
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