Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized protesters as "ingrates" Thursday during an address to National Guard members in Washington, D.C., which was largely drowned out by demonstrators. The event, held at Meridian Hill Park, was meant to recognize National Guard members deployed in the capital.
Hegseth arrived late to the gathering, which was held in temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit. After thanking the service members for their dedication, he turned his attention to the protesters whose chants overshadowed his speech. "This background noise this morning is perfect," Hegseth stated. "It's the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can't see law and order and common sense in front of them."
He asserted that the situation was not ideological or political, but about law and order, which he claimed all Americans deserve. Footage from the scene showed demonstrators shouting insults, including "shame, shame, shame," directed at Hegseth and other administration officials as they were leaving the event.
The National Guard members were deployed to Washington as part of an anti-crime initiative launched by President Donald Trump in March 2025. Trump's administration initiated the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, aiming to address what he described as crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor in the district. Despite claims of rampant lawlessness at the time, crime rates in Washington, D.C., had reportedly reached a decades-low point. The administration has promoted a significant decrease in violent crime, though external analyses have questioned the extent to which the National Guard's presence contributed to these figures.