Jen Psaki calls the attendance criteria "casting call requirements" and questions Hegseth's priorities
Jen PsakiHost of The Briefing with Jen Psaki on MS NOW and former White House press secretary
MS NOW host Jen Psaki criticized the Pentagon's email asking Army commanders to nominate attendees for Hegseth's State of the Force address. She called it a focus on the wrong things in the middle of a war, described the requirements as "casting call requirements", and said the request showed Hegseth's priorities were misplaced.
“Way to focus in the middle of a war on things that really matter right now.”
Original video
Where this statement fits
Were the Pentagon's Fitness and Grooming Requirements for Hegseth's Speech Appropriate?
Ahead of a "State of the Force" address scheduled for September 30, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emailed U.S. Army commanders asking them to nominate service members who meet the Army's waist-to-height ratio and fitness-test standards, along with "impeccable grooming and uniform standards (no exception)" and other performance criteria, for the chance to attend and join him for a workout, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The Pentagon declined to comment on the request when contacted by multiple outlets; the directive drew public criticism and mockery from several commentators.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
The outlet's own upload of the segment. Jen Psaki reacts to the Wall Street Journal's report on the Pentagon's email asking Army commanders to nominate attendees for Hegseth's State of the Force address, and explains how the Army's waist-to-height ratio is calculated. Quotations transcribed from the segment audio.
Before the quotation
The Wall Street Journal reported on September 15 that Pentagon emails asked Army commanders to nominate troops who meet the Army fitness test and waist-to-height ratio with "impeccable grooming and uniform standards (no exception)" for the September 30 address.
After the quotation
Psaki went on to describe how the Army's waist-to-height ratio is calculated, called the requirements "casting call requirements" for "the worst secretary of defense, perhaps in modern history," and noted that candidates who met the criteria would also have a chance to work out with the Secretary, adding it was "good to know" Hegseth "has his priorities straight, which he certainly never does."
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Psaki rejects the request as a misplaced focus in wartime and mocks the criteria as "casting call requirements", which condemns them rather than only describing them. The closest competing label, “Challenged the characterization”, loses because she judges the criteria on the merits and does not merely dispute a description of them.
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The Dispute Index. "Jen Psaki calls the attendance criteria "casting call requirements" and questions Hegseth's priorities". First published: 2026-09-24. Last updated: 2026-09-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/2161-ms-now-host-jen-psaki-criticized-the-pentagon