President Donald Trump will reportedly attend War Secretary Pete Hegseth's rare and unprecedented all-hands gathering of military leaders Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
"We have confirmation from the White House that POTUS is now attending the speech on Tuesday," according to a planning document sent to The Washington Post.
The notice was sent to the Pentagon because of bolstered security measures due to Trump's presence, according to the report.
Hundreds of generals, admirals, and senior enlisted leaders from around the world — all one-star rank and above — have been ordered to attend the Tuesday meeting, described by officials as a speech on "warrior ethos" and military standards. Trump's attendance, confirmed over the weekend, will place the Secret Service in charge of security.
"I'll be there if they want me, but why is that such a big deal?" Trump said in the Oval Office this week, downplaying the concern of generals questioning the purpose of the all-hands call. "The fact that we're getting along with the generals and admirals?"
"Remember, I'm the president of peace. It's good to get along. You act like this is a bad thing. Isn't it nice that people are coming from all over the world to be with us?"
The White House has not commented on Trump's upcoming appearance. Newsmax reached out to the White House press office for comment, but had not heard back as of publication.
The all-hands call was a move that shocked military leaders, the Post reported Thursday.
President Donald Trump urged NATO to take a more assertive role in Ukraine's defense by using weapons to push back Russian advances directly on the front lines.
He suggested the U.S. would provide arms to NATO members — who would then deploy them to Ukraine — rather than shipping them directly from U.S. stockpiles.
This shift marks a departure from his prior posture of limited direct intervention, and reflects a broader recalibration of U.S. involvement in the war.
Those Trump statements in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came one day after newly appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz vowed at his first U.N. Security Council meeting this week that the U.S. is resolute in helping defend "every inch" of NATO territory.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.