Secretary of Push-Ups: Hegseth Helps Set World Record Amid Criticism of His Fitness Demands for Military

Keeping with his new fitness directives for the military, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth helped set a new Guinness World Record Saturday for the most people doing push-ups simultaneously.

Hegseth led a group of cadets, soldiers, and fans at the United States Naval Academy’s football game in a push-up challenge, achieving an impressive total of 3,086 participants who did push-ups together for a full minute.

The record had been held by the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, with 2,926 participants performing push-ups on April 20, 2023.

Navy not only broke Air Force’s record, it defeated Air Force 34-31 in yesterday’s football game. Hegseth joined the team afterward to deliver a lively speech both celebrating and inspiring the victorious midshipmen.

“Lemme tell you, I couldn’t respect more what you did,” Hegseth said.

“You pounded through the game when you needed a stop at the end. You got the big stop. When you needed a first down. You got the first down. That’s going to be your life, not just in this game, but for the rest of your life when you’re wearing a different kind of uniform.”

Hegseth also took the occasion to remind the team about the high standards the military is bound to uphold.

“I don’t know if you saw, gave a little speech on Tuesday. That’s right. No more beardos,” Hegseth proudly said.

“No matter who you are. Standards, discipline, accountability, readiness. All the things you hear from your professors, from the [superintendent], from your coach, and from your commanders. It’s the basics. It’s blocking and tackling of leadership. Of command. That’s what you’re learning here. That’s what your formations need.”

Last Tuesday, Hegseth spoke at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, slamming “woke” politics for infiltrating the military and lowering standards for inclusivity.

“If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is,“ Hegseth said. “It will also mean that weak men won’t qualify, because we’re not playing games.”

Hegseth’s call for a neutral standard evaluation for both women and men, attracted the inevitable ire from the Left, which accused the secretary of war of discriminating against women in the military.

“He has long sought to push women out of the military,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said in an interview on “Face The Nation.” “And, frankly, our military could not do its job of protecting America and keeping us safe without the women who serve in the military.”

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