Adam Kinzinger says Hegseth is making fun of children in a cadet program
Adam KinzingerFormer Republican U.S. representative and military veteran, posting on X
Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman, wrote on X that the people in Hegseth's post are kids in a cadet program and that Hegseth was making fun of children. He added that "MAGA males are betas who have to punch down to feel big."
“Literally they’re kids. This is a cadet program and our ass hat of a Secdef is making fun of children”
Reporting
Reporting
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
Reporting
About this source
Guardian report, published September 2, 2026, on the response in Canada and the United States to Hegseth's post about the Vernon Cadet Training Centre. It quotes Mark Carney, David Eby, the Army Cadet League of Canada, Adam Kinzinger, Sen. Ruben Gallego and a Canadian veteran, and the Pentagon's reply.
Reporting
About this source
The Mary Sue article, published September 2, 2026, that shows Adam Kinzinger's post on X responding to Hegseth's post about Canadian cadets, and reports replies to it.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
On Monday night, Hegseth posted on X a photograph of two people in uniform with a Canadian flag and the caption "this is real." The photograph was taken from an Instagram post by the Vernon Cadet Training Centre in British Columbia.
After the quotation
The Guardian reported that critics said the person Hegseth appeared to be ridiculing is likely a volunteer instructor and that the girl receiving the medal is a teenager. The Pentagon's deputy press secretary said the X post speaks for itself.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether Hegseth's post mocked Canadian cadets. Kinzinger wrote that the people pictured are kids in a cadet program and that Hegseth was making fun of children, and added that MAGA males punch down to feel big. That is an express criticism of the post, so we labeled it Condemned.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Pete Hegseth
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
Former Canadian MP Charlie Angus says the Pentagon is "trolling Canadian teenagers who volunteer to serve our nation"
“I am not surprised that the Pentagon supports trolling Canadian teenagers who volunteer to serve our nation. We are proud of our cadets.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Adam Kinzinger says Hegseth is making fun of children in a cadet program". First published: 2026-09-30. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/3415-adam-kinzinger-a-former-republican-congressman-wrote-on