Obama jokes about Hegseth's 'focus on jawlines and testosterone' in Ohio campaign stop

This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. President Obama took aim at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his perceived focus on soldiers’ appearances and testosterone levels during a campaign stop in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday while campaign for gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown. The former president’s speech went after several Republican figures and recent scandals, often jokingly, as he made the case for Ohioans to support Acton and Brown, following years of rightward swings in the Buckeye State. Obama was the last Democratic nominee to win Ohio, doing so in both his campaigns in 2008 and 2012. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been a frequent target of Democrats over his handling of the Iran war and his “warriors” not “weirdos” rhetoric. Hegseth has called the military “low-T” and mandated testosterone screenings for male service members under 30. “You’ve got the defense secretary … he’s very focused on important matters like the jawlines and testosterone levels of our troops,” Obama said. The former president made the case that Hegseth’s focus on these issues has been a distraction and contributed to the prolonged Iran conflict. Obama went further, adding “How much time do you think this defense secretary spends looking at himself in the mirror in the morning?” The 44th president’s comments come as Senate Democrats are quietly floating the ouster of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after the Nov. 3 election as the political price for cooperation on key defense-related issues in the postelection lame-duck session, and they may have some GOP support to shake up the Pentagon’s leadership, according to Senate sources. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.