Trump Says Military Recruitment Surging Under Hegseth
Trump shares Department of War post and video claiming all five military branches exceed recruitment goals for the year.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump said military recruitment is “surging to historic levels” under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, sharing a post from the Department of War account along with a 60-second video montage.
The post credited Trump and Hegseth with exceeding recruitment goals and “rebuilding America’s fighting force.” The accompanying video intercut scenes of recruits taking the military oath of enlistment with clips of officials asserting that all five branches surpassed their recruitment targets for the fiscal year. One clip stated the U.S. Navy reached its recruiting goal for fiscal year 2026.
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, military recruitment is surging to historic levels. The War Department is exceeding recruitment goals and rebuilding America’s fighting force.” on October 26, 2026 at 4:39 PM ET.
This is Trump’s 9th message released today, and the last post was 0 minutes ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 46 of his 558 posts over the last 30 days classified as Domestic Policy posts.
Hegseth, the U.S. defense secretary, was sworn in on January 25, 2025, by Vice President JD Vance, according to foxnews. A Minnesota native, he graduated from Princeton University in 2003 and earned his master’s degree from Harvard University a decade later. Hegseth spent several years in the U.S. Army National Guard, deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan. His military service earned him two Bronze Star Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge and the Joint Commendation Medal, according to foxnews.
The Department of War posted a message on Truth Social on 10/26/2026. The message claimed military recruitment was surging under President Donald J.
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The post came from an account branded as the “Department of War,” reflecting the Trump administration’s decision to restore the pre-1947 name of the defense establishment. The original Department of War operated under that title from 1789 until the National Security Act of 1947 reorganized it into the Department of Defense. Trump and Hegseth restored the older name as part of what the administration described as an effort to clarify the military’s core mission, according to foxnews.
Multiple speakers appeared in the video. One led recruits through the standard enlistment oath, which includes a pledge to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Another speaker said, “We’re setting every record every month for recruitment.” A separate voice added, “The recruitment numbers are through the roof.”
No specific enlistment figures or comparisons to prior fiscal years appeared in the post or video. The claims of record-setting performance were not accompanied by data from the Department of Defense or any individual service branch.
Hegseth previously blamed the Obama-era Pentagon for embracing recruiting messages focused on diversity rather than combat readiness. He laid out that critique in his 2024 book, arguing those campaigns alienated the young men who traditionally filled the ranks while failing to attract the demographics they targeted, according to cbsnews.
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President Trump is the author of The Art of the Deal, Think Like a Billionaire, and Think Big. Analyst and Trump supporter Rod Martin points to The Art of the Deal, Trump's 1987 book, as an explanation of his deal-making philosophy: making big announcements, pivoting often in public statements and, Martin says, ultimately getting what he wanted all along. Critics contend that Trump's books were published decades ago or were aimed at making money, not shedding light. "Generally," Martin said, "critics don't read The Art of the Deal. If they did, they would understand."