'Esprit de corps': Donald Trump likely to attend rare gathering of military officials in Virginia; calls generals as 'cherished leaders'

US President Donald Trump might attend a rare gathering of US generals and admirals on Tuesday at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia, according to two sources familiar with the matter cited by CNN .

He described the meeting as an “esprit de corps” and a chance to celebrate the military’s strength and readiness.

In an interview with NBC News , Trump said, “It's really just a very nice meeting talking about how well we're doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things'”.

“I want to tell the generals that we love them, they're cherished leaders, to be strong, be tough and be smart and be compassionate”, he added in an interview to Reuters .

"That's all that is, esprit de corps . It's about time somebody did that," he further said.

The gathering was originally organised by secretary of war, Pete Hegseth , to discuss a shift toward a “warrior ethos” at the Pentagon, including new readiness, fitness, and grooming standards for senior officers.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has moved quickly to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals and targeting diversity initiatives he calls discriminatory.

Officials and military specialists have raised concerns that the meeting may blur lines between military and politics, with Trump previously using military events to attack political rivals and the media.

According to the New York Times , two Democratic senators on the Armed Services Committee, Tammy Duckworth and Mazie Hirono, criticised the meeting as a “costly and disruptive political stunt” with potential security risks, noting the unprecedented concentration of senior military leadership in one location.

The event’s high costs are expected to run into millions of dollars, including transporting senior officials who usually travel on US military aircraft, and it remains unclear why it could not be held virtually, as per Reuters.

Officials said Hegseth’s remarks will be live-streamed. As per CNN, the White House has described the meeting as a “show of force of what the new military now looks like under the president”.