Pete Hegseth and RFK Jr. Push MAGA Fitness Challenge Amid Pentagon Photo Scandal

Pete Hegseth seems to be taking cues from Donald Trump not just in politics but in self-promotion too. A new social media video has revealed that the defense secretary has lined the Pentagon’s walls with photographs of himself, while also rolling out a MAGA-styled fitness challenge alongside Robert F Kennedy Jr.

The promotional clip shows Hegseth, 45, and Kennedy, 71, walking through Pentagon corridors where pictures of Hegseth hang prominently. One shot, originally taken by a Getty Images photographer, had JD Vance cropped out, leaving only Hegseth with his third wife Jennifer Rauchet as they shake hands. The irony wasn’t lost on observers who noted Hegseth often rails against “mainstream media” yet seems happy to showcase their photos when it flatters him.

As the video continues, more images of Hegseth appear, including one of him inspecting Marines and another saluting at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There’s even a framed mock-up of the so-called F-47 stealth fighter, previously mocked as a sycophantic tribute to Trump.

The spectacle shifts to the Pentagon gym where Hegseth and Kennedy introduce what they call the Pete and Bobby Challenge. The routine demands 100 push-ups and 50 pull-ups in under 10 minutes. Hegseth, dressed in gym shorts, sweats through the exercises, while Kennedy, oddly enough, attempts them in jeans, boots and a belt.

“It’s all about Make America Healthy Again,” Hegseth says in the video. “We’re gonna be fit, not fat, we want recruits that are ready to go.” Kennedy chimes in: “Pete and I are going to do our part to encourage American youth to do this challenge”, reported the Independent.

In a bid to push the challenge viral, Kennedy nominated Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to give it a go, while Hegseth called out Air Force Gen Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his former Fox News colleague Will Cain. The Pentagon has yet to respond to questions about why its corridors are now decorated like a personal shrine to Hegseth.

The Trump White House is seeing a similar makeover, with the Oval Office transformed into what critics call Mar-a-Lago North, brimming with gold-plated mouldings and gaudy flourishes. Trump, 79, also signed an executive order in July reinstating the old Presidential Fitness Test in schools, framing it as part of his push on health and fitness.

Hegseth’s rise to this role has been far from ordinary. Before joining Trump’s administration, he was an Army National Guard officer and co-host on Fox & Friends. His private life has been no less controversial. Rauchet, his third wife and a former Fox producer, became his partner after an affair during his second marriage. She later gave birth to their child, and reports surfaced of Hegseth cheating again, which he admitted but insisted was consensual. He and Rauchet married in 2019 at a ceremony attended by Trump family members.

Now Rauchet is a fixture at the Pentagon too. Pictures of her with Hegseth are displayed in meeting rooms, including one where Hegseth hosted Elon Musk in April. In March, she was added to a private Signal group chat run by Hegseth where sensitive military information about Yemen strikes was being discussed.