In a darkly authoritarian tone, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would fire top US military leaders if he didn’t like them. “I’m going to be meeting with generals and with admirals and with leaders, and if I don’t like somebody, I’m going to fire them right on the spot,” Trump told reporters as he was set for a rare meeting with the top US military officers in Quantico, Virginia.Later, he met top US military officers and addressed generals and admirals, who were summoned by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.He said that the US is facing a “war from within” from crime and immigration, while warning that the military would be involved in his crackdowns on several Democratic-run cities.“We’re going to straighten them out one by one, and this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That’s a war too — it’s a war from within,” Trump said.He also told the top officials that troops should use “dangerous” American cities as “training grounds.” He also told the generals and admirals that he had signed an order to set up a military quick reaction force to quell civil disturbances “because it’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control.”

Hegseth slams ‘fat’ officials

Meanwhile, Hegseth lashed out at “woke” policies in US military and ordered them to fix “decades of decay.”He further unveiled directives for military personnel, asking them to get fit, cut their hair and shave their beards.Hegseth ordered that all US military officials, irrespective of their rank, will take a physical fitness test twice a year. It was “completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon,” he said. He set “grooming standards”, adding: “If you want a beard, you can join special forces. If not, then shave. We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans.”