Sky News host Rita Panahi has lauded the Trump administration’s efforts to rebuild and strengthen the U.S. military, crediting President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with reversing what she described as years of deliberate weakening and demoralization under the Biden administration.
The praise follows a significant surge in military recruitment since Trump’s 2024 election victory, with the administration recently releasing a hard-hitting advertisement emphasizing a return to traditional military values. The ad, voiced by Trump and Hegseth, vows to eliminate what conservatives have criticized as woke policies in the armed forces, including electric vehicle mandates for the military, gender ideology, and climate change-focused initiatives.
“America is back,” Panahi declared, echoing the ad’s messaging. “That’s how you restore pride in an institution, how you inspire service and sacrifice and love for your country. Peace through strength—that’s the mantra. And it’s entirely consistent with Trump’s America First strategy.”
Panahi contrasted the current administration’s approach with that of its predecessor, singling out former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, whom she accused of contributing to plummeting morale and recruitment numbers. She played a clip of Milley defending President Joe Biden’s cognitive state in 2023, calling it part of a “great Biden cover-up.”
“With leadership like that, you can understand why the U.S. Army kept falling short—and dangerously short—of its recruitment targets,” Panahi said. She mocked past military recruitment ads that focused on progressive themes, including one featuring a soldier raised by same-sex parents, suggesting such messaging failed to resonate with potential recruits.
The Trump administration’s new ad, however, takes a starkly different tone, emphasizing combat readiness, national pride, and a rejection of ideological distractions. “No more electric tanks, no more gender confusion, no more climate change worship,” the ad states. “We are laser-focused on our mission of warfighting.”
The message appears to be resonating. Recruitment numbers have remained high since Trump’s election, and the administration anticipates another spike following the ad’s release.
“We will replenish the pride of our armed forces,” Hegseth declares in the spot, as Trump adds: “Our friends will respect us, our enemies will fear us, and the whole world will admire the unrivaled greatness of the United States military.”
Panahi concluded with a flourish, joking that the ad left her needing “a cigarette” due to its rousing patriotism. “That’s how you restore pride in an institution,” she repeated. “How you inspire service and sacrifice and love for your country.”
With tensions rising globally, the Trump administration’s focus on military strength and recruitment marks a sharp departure from the previous era—one that supporters argue was long overdue.
