{"id":2493065,"date":"2025-09-30T19:21:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T23:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sunny-hostin-blasts-hegseths-push-for-tougher-military-standards-not-an-uplifting-message\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T19:26:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T23:26:48","slug":"sunny-hostin-blasts-hegseths-push-for-tougher-military-standards-not-an-uplifting-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sunny-hostin-blasts-hegseths-push-for-tougher-military-standards-not-an-uplifting-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunny Hostin blasts Hegseth\u2019s push for tougher military standards: \u2018Not an uplifting message\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsunny-hostin-blasts-hegseths-push-for-tougher-military-standards-not-an-uplifting-message%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2493065&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Sunny Hostin, a co-host on *The View*, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/must-watch-foxs-maccallum-blisters-national-teachers-union-president-on-alleged-influence-on-biden-critical-race-theory-1619-project\/\" title=\"MUST-WATCH: Fox\u2019s MacCallum Blisters National Teachers Union President On Alleged Influence On Biden, Critical Race Theory, 1619 Project\">strongly criticized<\/a> U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth following his announcement of stricter physical fitness and readiness standards for the military. Speaking about Hegseth&#8217;s speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Hostin described his remarks as &#8220;bizarre&#8221; and &#8220;not an uplifting message.&#8221; hegseth called for tougher physical requirements, including routine PT testing and a return to the highest male physical standards for combat roles, citing concerns about &#8220;fat troops&#8221; and &#8220;fat generals.&#8221; He emphasized that standards must be high and gender-neutral, stating, &#8220;If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hostin expressed confusion over the tone of Hegseth&#8217;s address, especially given recent high-profile firings of various military leaders, many of whom were women and people of color. She challenged the optics of gathering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vets-battle-critical-race-theory-invasion-of-military\/\" title=\"Vets Battle Critical Race Theory Invasion of ...\">top military brass<\/a> at significant cost while delivering a message she viewed as demoralizing. other *The view* co-hosts also weighed in, questioning Hegseth&#8217;s focus on physical appearance and defending service members who meet current readiness goals.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth defended his position as essential for combat preparedness, asserting that weak individuals shoudl not qualify for combat roles, emphasizing the life-or-death stakes involved. His reforms also include mandatory fitness and height\/weight standards to be met twice yearly by all service members, from privates to generals. The controversy highlights ongoing debates about military readiness, standards, and the treatment of service personnel. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Sunny Hostin slams Pete Hegseth&rsquo;s push for stricter military standards: &lsquo;Not an uplifting message&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2360834\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><em>The View<\/em>&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/3435944\/the-view-trump-national-guard-la-fascism-civil-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sunny Hostin<\/a> strongly criticized Secretary of War <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> on Tuesday after he unveiled new measures to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3829994\/pete-hegseth-speech-war-department-military-leaders-quantico\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tighten physical fitness requirements <\/a>across the U.S. military, calling his remarks &ldquo;bizarre&rdquo; and &ldquo;not an uplifting message.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on <em>The View<\/em>, Hostin said she was &ldquo;befuddled&rdquo; by the tone and content of Hegseth&rsquo;s address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, where he <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >demanded tougher physical standards<\/a>, routine PT testing, and condemned what he described as &ldquo;fat troops&rdquo; and &ldquo;fat generals.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3831230\/army-draganfly-supply-fpv-drones\/\">Army selects Draganfly to supply FPV drones<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3830993\/ben-of-ben-jerrys-chainsaws-mini-pentagon-capitol-hill\/\">Ben of Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s chainsaws mini Pentagon on Capitol Hill&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3830245\/trump-national-guard-hegseth-military-should-use-cities-as-training-grounds\/\">Trump says he told Hegseth military should use US cities as &#8216;training grounds&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I was really befuddled by why he did that. The optics were terrible, meaning all of our top military brass are all in one place, and we spent $6 million to get them there. That didn&rsquo;t make a lot of sense to me,&rdquo; Hostin said. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It also didn&rsquo;t make a lot of sense to me that he was saying that he was gonna toughen physical standards and review the anti-hazing policy by sort of implementing a hazing policy, and then also he said he was going to return to the highest male standard for combat positions because the troops were fat. I just, I don&rsquo;t understand how that was supposed to be an uplifting message for our military.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sunny Hostin also decries Hegseth wanting to &#8220;toughen physical standards&#8221; for America&#8217;s service members and called it &#8220;really a bizarre thing.&#8221; &#8220;I don&#8217;t understand how that was supposed to be an uplifting message for our military,&#8221; she bloviated.<br \/>Of course, she whines about&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/G3nTg6POYu\">pic.twitter.com\/G3nTg6POYu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NickFondacaro\/status\/1973048719403630696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>She added, &ldquo;Yeah, it was just, it was really a bizarre thing. He started talking about woke DEI policies. By the way, there are no gender quotas in the military. By the way, he fired more than a dozen military leaders, many of them people of color and women. He fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown, Jr., who is African American. He fired the first woman to command the Navy, Admiral Lisa Franchetti. I just, I don&rsquo;t understand the sort of hypocrisy of firing these people, having all these people meet together, and then denigrating them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth, a former Army officer and Fox News host who is now the Secretary of War, defended his push for stricter requirements as essential for battlefield readiness.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">HEGSETH: &ldquo;If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It will also mean that weak men won&#8217;t qualify, because we&#8217;re not playing games.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is combat. This is life or death.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gHJ6RTmW9d\">pic.twitter.com\/gHJ6RTmW9d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MaryMargOlohan\/status\/1973008027587596541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is not about preventing women from serving,&rdquo; Hegseth said in his speech. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We very much value the impact of female troops. Our female officers and NCOs are the absolute best in the world. But when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender neutral. If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is. It will also mean that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-tells-generals-and-admirals-if-the-words-im-speaking-today-are-making-your-heart-sink-resign\/\" title=\"Hegseth Tells ... and Admirals: &#039;If the Words I&#039;m Speaking Today Are Making Your Heart Sink... Resign&#039;\">weak men won&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t qualify because we&rsquo;re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth also ordered every member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-seeks-supreme-court-intervention-in-transgender-troops-ban\/\" title=\"Trump seeks Supreme Court intervention in transgender ... ban\">armed forces &#038;mdash<\/a>; from privates to generals &mdash; to pass physical training and height\/weight standards twice a year.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Secretary Hegseth: &#8220;Frankly, it&#8217;s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops. Likewise, it&#8217;s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iiqXUZA0UY\">pic.twitter.com\/iiqXUZA0UY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cspan\/status\/1973036126643397025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Frankly, it&rsquo;s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops,&rdquo; he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cspan\/status\/1973036126643397025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;Likewise, it&rsquo;s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>The View<\/em>&rsquo;s other co-hosts weighed in, accusing Hegseth of belittling service members.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Why is he obsessed with fat?&rdquo; Joy Behar asked, while Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that the speech unfairly insulted troops who have continued to meet recruitment and readiness goals.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3830245\/trump-national-guard-hegseth-military-should-use-cities-as-training-grounds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRUMP SAYS HE TOLD HEGSETH MILITARY SHOULD USE US CITIES AS &lsquo;TRAINING GROUNDS&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;All of these people from different backgrounds come together and fight for the American values,&rdquo; Griffin said. &ldquo;So, I don&rsquo;t understand why we have to denigrate the military to try to talk about doing better.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hostin reiterated that she found Hegseth&rsquo;s rhetoric damaging: &ldquo;I just don&rsquo;t understand how that was supposed to be an uplifting message.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sunny Hostin criticizes Pete Hegseth&#8217;s strict military fitness plan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2678,"featured_media":2493066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/hegseth-hostin-image-collage-7lraj6c5h-175926654922.jpg?1759257298&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[45173,38975,52575,37043,34267],"class_list":["post-2493065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-hegseth","tag-media-commentary","tag-military-standards","tag-political-debate","tag-sunny-hostin"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/hegseth-hostin-image-collage-7lraj6c5h-175926654922.jpg?1759257298&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2493065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2493065"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2493065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2493069,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2493065\/revisions\/2493069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2493066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2493065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2493065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2493065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}