White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday credited a more than decade-long high in military recruiting levels to President Trump’s strong leadership and Pete Hegseth’s proven record as somebody “who understands what it means to deploy.”
Previously, under the Biden Administration and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin consistently fell short of recruiting goals as men and women did not want to be mistreated and then sent off to die at the hands of Joe Biden.
Recruiting has been hampered by COVID-19 vaccine requirements, an increasingly woke military atmosphere where trans soldiers are give special privileges while Christian soldiers were persecuted, bases hosting drag shows, and leaders with a history of anti-white statements.
However, since President Trump won the 2024 election, Americans have been inspired to serve.
“I do believe it’s a culture problem within these institutions that the President is very much committed to fixing, as emphasized by the executive orders he has signed to root DEI out of the military,” Leavitt said.
As the Gateway Pundit reported, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Army announced that they achieved 15-year highs in recruitment levels in December and January. Trump didn’t even take office until January 20, and Americans were already signing up to serve under his administration.
U.S. Army Shatters Recruiting Records Under Trump’s Command — Best Recruiting Numbers in 15 Years
During her press briefing Wednesday, Leavitt responded to The Gateway Pundit’s question about how the new administration’s changes are making young people want to serve in the military under Donald Trump.
Watch below:
Conradson: Secretary Hegseth announced yesterday that army recruiting levels have reached 12-year highs in December and 15-year highs in January.
What is making young people want to serve in the military under the Trump administration, and how does that contrast with Biden’s failure consistently to meet recruiting goals? Does President Trump’s anti-DEI agenda play a role in this?
Leavitt: First of all, the recruitment level for all branches of our military are at crisis levels, and it serves as a national security risk that our military branches are not fully staffed to where they need to be.
And I do believe it’s a culture problem within these institutions that the President is very much committed to fixing, as emphasized by the executive orders he has signed to root DEI out of the military.
And I think when young men and women who are honorably signing up to serve in our nation’s military see somebody like Pete Hegseth, the new Secretary of Defense, who is a proven warfighter, who risked life in battle for this country, who understands what it means to deploy and to defend the Constitution and your nation abroad, and to put your life on the line— when they see a leader like that and a leader like President Trump who is committed to peace through strength, that’s very inspiring.
And we look forward to seeing those recruitment numbers and retention numbers skyrocketing over the next four years, and I know Pete Hegseth is committed to increasing recruitment at all branches of the military. I would defer you to the Department of Defense on exactly what he plans to implement.
The Gateway Pundit’s @ConradsonJordan asks @PressSec @karolineleavitt why military recruitment is soaring under President Trump—hitting 12-year highs in December and 15-year highs in January—while Biden’s military struggled to meet even the bare minimum.
Leavitt slams Biden’s… pic.twitter.com/6N4xGaSeYT
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) February 5, 2025
The post WATCH: White House Press Secretary Responds to TGP’s Jordan Conradson on Army Recruiting Levels Reaching 15-Year Highs Under Trump – Says Recruitment Numbers Expected to “Skyrocket Over the Next Four Years” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.