The Secretary of Defense Posts a Photo of Two Teenage Canadian Cadets and Writes "This Is Real" — the Pentagon Says the Post "Speaks for Itself," and an Arizona Senator Answers That These Are "Sycophants" Putting American Security at Risk
On Monday, August 31, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X an image taken at the Cadet Training Centre in Vernon, British Columbia — two young women in uniform — captioned "this is real" beside a Canadian flag. The Royal Canadian Army Cadets is a youth program; its members are not members of the Canadian Armed Forces. The replies filled with commentary on the cadets' appearance. The post was the third disparagement of Canada's military by a senior Trump administration official inside nine days. Vice President JD Vance told an audience in Brewer, Maine on August 24 that Canada "quite literally would get invaded by a foreign country" without American protection. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News Sunday on August 23 that Canada "doesn't have a military." All of it landed while the 50 percent Section 338 tariffs were in force and Ottawa was preparing retaliatory duties for September 8. Asked about the backlash on Tuesday, September 1, Pentagon deputy press secretary Jacob Bliss said only: "The X post speaks for itself." Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a Marine veteran and a member of the Armed Services Committee, was the sharpest American voice against it. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government said the remarks were "beneath their office," and B.C. Premier David Eby called the whole episode an embarrassment. Canada has 158 war dead from Afghanistan, a war it entered after the United States was attacked.
“It’s stupid, and it’s really deeply disrespectful to the men and women of Canada that have died fighting with us.”