Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) unloaded on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Wednesday CNN appearance, blasting his post about Canadian cadets as “lowbrow” and “demeaning.”
Hegseth shared the post in question Monday evening, posting a screenshot from the Vernon Cadet Training Centre’s Instagram account showing a smiling cadet shaking hands with an instructor after receiving a medal.
(this is real) pic.twitter.com/Ucx2FNdi1q
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) September 1, 2026
CNN’s Jim Sciutto, in for the network’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday’s edition of Anderson Cooper 360, questioned Bacon over the matter, noting that one of the cadets pictured is a teenager.
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“Is that beneath the dignity of the office?” he asked.
“It is,” Bacon responded. “It’s lowbrow. I think it’s unprofessional, and I’d like to think that our leadership, representing us in the Pentagon and in the White House, we should be better than that, and I thought it was demeaning and uncalled for.”
Elsewhere in their conversation, Sciutto asked about Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) Wednesday post in which he called for President Donald Trump to fire Hegseth amidst outgoing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s departure. Driscoll left due to “months of tension” with the defense secretary, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A snippet of Tillis’ long-winded post read:
I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country. He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.
I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.
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“I agree with the sentiments of Senator Tillis,” Bacon, also a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, told CNN. “[Hegseth] would not be on my team. I think he has not been a very good leader in many ways.”
Pointing out that “Republican senators confirmed him,” Sciutto then asked, “Should they have seen this coming?”
“I think so,” Bacon said. “I felt like he was trouble from the beginning.” The Nebraska congressman then cited the so-called SignalGate scandal, in which Hegseth participated in an unsecured group chat about sensitive military operations that inadvertently included a journalist.
When asked if he feels Hegseth’s behavior puts “U.S. national security at risk,” Bacon was clear, emphasizing, “I think it weakens us. And by the way, it’s just wrong. Most Americans expect more out of our secretary of defense. I mean, he’s fired approximately 20 generals and admirals, mainly three- and four-stars. Now, we’re seeing service secretaries as well either resigning or being fired.”
Watch above on CNN.
The post Republican Congressman Slams Hegseth’s Post About Cadets as ‘Lowbrow’ and ‘Demeaning’ first appeared on Mediaite.
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