Overview

• Speaking for roughly 75 minutes at Marine Corps Base Quantico, the president addressed hundreds of generals and admirals in an event arranged by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
• He mocked Joe Biden for past stair stumbles and said he moves slowly to avoid falls, then broke into a brief song‑and‑dance impression while praising Barack Obama’s quick descent of steps.
• The speech ranged widely with digressions on nuclear posture near Russia, gold‑trimmed stationery for commissions, boasts about foreign peace efforts, and a defense of tariffs as a favorite policy tool.
• Hegseth used the gathering to unveil directives that include new fitness standards billed as gender‑neutral or male‑level and a rollback of what he called “woke” culture, while urging dissenting leaders to resign.
• News outlets described the address as long and surreal, highlighting the stair‑focused riff that overshadowed the policy agenda presented to the assembled military leadership.