Former Canadian MP Charlie Angus says the Pentagon is "trolling Canadian teenagers who volunteer to serve our nation"
Charlie AngusFormer New Democratic Party member of the Canadian Parliament for Timmins—James Bay, posting on his own Bluesky account
Charlie Angus, a former New Democratic Party member of the Canadian Parliament, responded to the Pentagon standing by Hegseth's post by saying he was unsurprised it would support trolling Canadian teenagers who volunteer to serve, and that Canadians are proud of their cadets. The remainder of his post made separate allegations about the Pentagon's conduct that are his own characterisations and are not at issue in this case.
“I am not surprised that the Pentagon supports trolling Canadian teenagers who volunteer to serve our nation. We are proud of our cadets.”
Original post
Where this statement fits
Did Pete Hegseth’s “this is real” post mock Canadian cadets?
On September 1, 2026, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted an image from the Vernon Cadet Training Centre showing a cadet receiving an award from an instructor, adding a Canadian flag and the words “this is real.” Canadian officials, a cadet organization, a Republican member of Congress, and George Clooney characterized the post as mocking, demeaning, or beneath the dignity of Hegseth’s office. The Pentagon stood by the post but did not specify what the caption meant.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
The speaker's own post. The post continues with allegations against the Pentagon concerning sailors, conduct at sea and the deaths of schoolgirls; those are the speaker's characterisations of separate matters, are not established by this record, and are not the subject of this case.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The Pentagon stood by Hegseth's post without specifying what the caption meant. The Army Cadet League of Canada and Canadian ministers had already objected.
After the quotation
The cadet programme is described by Angus and others as Canada's only cost-free national youth programme. We record only the portion of the post addressing the cadet controversy; his further allegations about the Pentagon concern separate matters.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Angus characterises it as trolling teenagers and answers it with an expression of national pride in the cadets, which rejects the conduct. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, since his target is the Pentagon's institutional defence rather than Hegseth's original post. That loses because he describes the underlying conduct itself as trolling young volunteers, which is an evaluation of the post and not only of the defence of it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Pete Hegseth, United States Department of Defense
More from this case
Read the full caseMichael Gendron says Hegseth's post invited mockery of women cadets
“an obvious invitation to mock the women’s appearance.”Read statement
Jonathan V. Last calls Hegseth "a cretin" over the Canadian cadets post
“The super butch secretary of WAR is making fun of an American ally... These are not Canadian soldiers. The Canadian Army is not a woke, Marxist polycule... So Pete Hegseth is a cretin.”Read statement
Clooney asks where the sense of decency is
“Where's the sense of decency in all of this? And I'm ashamed of all of that.”Read statement
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- Former Canadian MP Charlie Angus says the Pentagon is "trolling Canadian teenagers who volunteer to serve our nation"
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The Dispute Index. "Former Canadian MP Charlie Angus says the Pentagon is "trolling Canadian teenagers who volunteer to serve our nation"". First published: 2026-09-18. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/1087-charlie-angus-a-former-new-democratic-party-member