You would think the secretary of defense, or, to some, the secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, would be the epitome of health and fitness. And, sometimes, he is. But in a video posted on TikTok, homeboy struggles so much to get through his final reps during a bench press session that it’s hard to take him seriously.
In the video, Hegseth appears to be at the tail end of a circuit involving lots of different military workouts. But this particular clip has gone viral because of the way it makes Hegseth look. As in, it makes him look like he isn’t quite living up to the military fitness standards that he put into place after Donald Trump brought him on.
There’s a reason why Pete Hegseth failed at finishing his bench press workout.
@briantylercohen Ummm…
♬ original sound – briantylercohen
In the TikTok video, Hegseth is on number 35 of a set at the bench. He struggles through the last one as someone spotting him shouts out, “one more!” Hegseth eventually gets up and grunts, “Somebody get in here.” It’s all very hectic, but it’s also giving someone counting out “99, 100” after doing just a few reps.
Don’t get it twisted, though, because Hegseth likely did perform pretty well during this workout before this clip was posted on TikTok. It seems to be one small snapshot of a larger training session with other military personnel. And that’s totally fine. But this clip, which also shows Hegseth’s leg kick up as he struggles to bring up the bar and complete his set, is too much not to make fun of for most people who are very anti-MAGA.
Honestly, there’s just too much to point out as far as Hegseth’s form, his inability to complete the 44 reps he was apparently supposed to do, and his general attitude at seeming to be proud of himself. We just can’t have the latter, especially when there are so many things that have gone awry with the administration that he remains loyal to. Sorry, Pete.
People still trolled him for it.
After the clip was posted on TikTok, people commented on it to share how embarrassing it is for them to watch. Someone even wrote, “This is indicative of how he runs the department of defense. It’s more than he’s able to handle.” Ouch.
“The most impressive part of benching 135 lbs. 35 times is failing at the 36 and then screaming out 44 when he stands up,” another TikTok user commented.
“Look at him kicking his little leg,” someone else wrote, in reference to Hegseth’s leg kicking up as he almost fails to place the bar back on its stand. “Awwww so precious.”
Others commented to make fun of the rumors of Hegseth drinking too much more often than not.
“Trying to workout hungover is never a good idea,” a user joked.
Another pointed out, “Alcohol and exercise don’t go together!”
Pete Hegseth’s workouts in general don’t always get him the reaction he wants.
.@SecWar @PeteHegseth sure can PRANCE! No wonder he couldn’t lift those weights yesterday.🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/Q3o77FwQmP
— Katherine (@beckiluk) June 12, 2026
Hegseth might be in charge of making sure the United States military is in tip top shape, but almost every time he is filmed working out, there is a new clip for social media to go wild over. It’s just the way of the internet, to be honest. Like the time someone posted a video of Hegseth on X (formerly Twitter) struggling with dumbbells and users thought the visual of him struggling was so awful that it was AI. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.
Another time, when Hegseth worked out with the military, the internet went gaga over clips of Hegseth’s stance while running. One user on X even joked that Hegseth was “prancing” rather than running during military drills.
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