While President Donald Trump and his top advisers are mulling military strikes on Iran, “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth has been busy doing bench presses in the gym.
The Defense Secretary featured in a series of videos on official U.S. government social media accounts this week, showing off his skills.
“Gotta keep the butt down,” Hegseth advised viewers before he racked weights, in one clip posted on the “Department of War Rapid Response” X account.
In another video shared Friday Hegseth, a military veteran, was cheered on by troops at Fort Campbell as he bench-pressed in front of them. Several clips of Hegseth working out, including where he tried to bench press 300lbs with his teenage son spotting him, were shared on his X account and the rapid response account between Thursday and Saturday.
“The warrior ethos is alive and well at Fort Campbell,” Hegseth captioned a post Saturday with photos of him holding an ax, addressing troops beneath a banner that read “Let valor not fail,” and again working out.
Hegseth’s “fitspo” content was posted as Trump told reporters Friday that he is “considering” ordering airstrikes on Iran.
“As Trump moves the military closer to war with Iran there is this,” CNN’s Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr commented on the video of Hegseth pumping iron with his son.
Starr’s sentiment was shared among other social media users. “Doesn’t really look like he’s invading Iran today,” quipped one account.
“Bro, go do your job…” said another.
“He’s the secretary of war not a fitness influencer,” one person commented. “I know for a fact Irans [sic] SecWar can’t bench 315,” someone else joked.
But Hegseth’s fans chimed in with support. “Ok to be fair, its [sic] nice having a Secretary of War bench 315,” one person noted. “315 is respectable,” another pointed out.
Hegseth’s gym sessions at Fort Campbell follow a similar display he put on Wednesday with Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, at the TV personality’s Palm Beach, Florida, residence.
“Secretary @PeteHegseth visited us for a beachside brunch — he can turn a leisurely afternoon into a MAHA extravaganza with tree pull-ups, a cold plunge, and a Mediterranean feast!” Oz posted Wednesday on X, with pictures of the pair doing pull-ups on palm trees.
In the same week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also shared a bizarre video where he worked out in nothing but a pair of jeans with musician Kid Rock.
Trump met Wednesday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, special envoy for the Middle East, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, a special envoy for peace, according to Axios. The group discussed “next steps” in the Iran crisis with Trump after the U.S delegation returned from high-stakes talks in Geneva.
The president told reporters Friday that he is “considering” airstrikes on Iran to pressure the country’s government into a new agreement to curb its nuclear program – one which Trump claimed to have “obliterated” with a series of strikes last year.
“I guess I can say I am considering that,” Trump said, when asked by reporters if he was considering limited strikes with U.S. warplanes.
The U.S. has been building up military assets in the Middle East as tensions grow with Tehran. The U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was spotted off the coast of Oman this week and will soon be joined by the world’s largest warship, the $13bn U.S.S. Gerald R Ford. The ongoing buildup has seen destroyers and specialist combat ships move to cover Iran’s southern flank as F-15 and EA-18 fighter jets gather numbers across military bases to the west.
At a Thursday meeting to promote Trump’s Board of Peace, where he also touted efforts in ending Israel’s war in Gaza, the president warned that Tehran must reach an agreement with the U.S. on curbing its nuclear program or risk “bad things.”
Not everyone in the Trump administration is supportive of military strikes, according to Reuters, citing a senior White House official who said Saturday there was no “unified support” in launching an attack on Iran. Aides instead want the president to focus on pushing economic matters ahead of the 2026 midterms, according to the news agency.
