Retired Gen. Mark Hertling ripped President Donald Trump’s speech to hundreds of senior military leaders — before revealing what he believed shocked the president in real time.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned top military officials to an in-person meeting in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday, in which he issued a series of directives that included requiring all combat troops to meet the “highest male standard” for physical fitness. Trump, who spoke after Hegseth, proposed using U.S. cities as training grounds for the armed forces and said that the military may need to fight what he described as the “invasion from within.”

During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” early Wednesday, Hertling called Trump’s speech “meandering” with “all sorts of issues,” before noting that t

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