U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth keeps getting humbled on the job. There is no way around being in the spotlight as a top adviser to Donald Trump, yet pulling himself together, like he should be doing with security policies, might be his toughest task. Now, Hegseth is on the receiving en d of a ruthless social media dragging, and he only has himself to blame. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth takes questions during a press conference on US military action in Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on March 2, 2026. The United States hit hundreds of targets across Iran, and Israel expanded its bombing to Lebanon on Monday as President Donald Trump vowed to avenge the first US deaths in the war he launched to topple Tehran’s ruling clerics. Iranian forces fired missiles and drones across the Middle East, killing people in Israel and the United Arab Emirates, in retaliation for the conflict that began February 28 with the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) At minimum, people expect him to be a representation of the troops. Not everyone is confident that Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran, is doing either of those with much success. A photo circulating on IG Threads isn’t helping his case either. Kyle Rittenhouse, the man who was acquitted as a teenager in the fatal shooting of two Black Lives Matter demonstrators at a 2020 Wisconsin protest, felt like he was posing with a celebrity when he uploaded a snapshot with Hegseth. What he did was add fuel to the fire that Trump’s Department of Defense chief keeps falling into with every public appearance. The first look at the image shows Hegseth dressed in a green suit, Rittenhouse standing beside him in a blue suit, and the gun enthusiast’s girlfriend to his left in a blouse and skirt. All parties are smiling in front of a wall decked out with military emblems. View on Threads “Had a great time meeting with @secwar a few weeks ago!” Rittenhouse wrote. The post attracted over 400 likes, dozens of reshares, and thousands of responses. A brutal zoom-in sparked the banter about his attire. It doesn’t take long to notice that Hegseth’s pudgy midsection strained the buttons of his coat and his fuller arms caused the coat arms to fit too snugly. “Is Petey stress eating??? I don’t think he could pass his physical fitness exam,” an onlooker wondered for all to see. Last June, Hegseth mandated that all service members complete physical tests twice a year and exercise every duty day. “If the secretary of war can do regular, hard PT, so can every member of our joint force,” he told military leaders during a meeting at Marine Corps Base Quantico. Moreover, he vented, “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops. Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands in countries around the world.” A second critic considered that Hegseth may have felt overly confident in the suit because of an inflated ego. They wrote, “Somebody somewhere sometime told him he looked buff like that and he ran with it.” I’m actually crying this is so fkn funny https://t.co/r9jjw1faMS pic.twitter.com/DZHTVFNHkD— nylaWHO (@nylawho1) June 12, 2026 A third Threads user piggybacked on that comment and stated, “He thinks it makes him look ‘jacked’ but it really just makes him look whacked!” Someone else advised Rittenhouse that he “might wanna hit the gym lil guy. tip, don’t take workout advice from petey.” Multiple videos of Hegseth working out with soldiers have highlighted his poor exercise form and struggles to lift weights of all types, including his own body during a pull-up test. Like Trump, the secretary’s weight gain has been a distraction among critics. In February, photos of Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, on date night were mocked for his ill-fitting suit. Instead of looking dapper, he ended up looking stuffed into another tight suit.   ‘This Is So Funny!’: Pete Hegseth Faces Another Round of Public Embarrassment — But This Time a Zoom in on His Appearance Results in Total Mockery ...read more read less