The Pentagon has denied a report published this week by NBC News that claimed that military leaders were considering a new recruitment campaign based on honoring the legacy of conservative activist and Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week in Utah.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told Fox News that the NBC News report was “100% wrong” and criticized the news outlet for “publishing false claims based on anonymous sources.”
“This is not happening, yet Fake News NBC published this report as if it were true using anonymous sources with no knowledge of what the recruitment task force at DOW is working on,” Wilson told Fox News.
Wilson’s statements came after NBC News published a report by Courtney Kube, which cited two anonymous officials who suggested that Undersecretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata was leading an effort to potentially launch a recruitment campaign connected to Kirk’s legacy.
NBC News reported that anonymous officials claimed the Pentagon’s potential campaign would be in the form of a national call to service and could include slogans such as “Charlie has awakened a generation of warriors.”
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The anonymous officials told NBC News that Pentagon leaders were considering using Turning Point USA chapters across the United States as military recruitment centers. Additionally, one of the officials told NBC News that the potential recruitment effort could involve having military recruiters at various Turning Point USA events or advertising for the U.S. military at the chapters.
NBC News acknowledged that it was not clear whether the Pentagon would implement a recruitment campaign based on the conservative activist’s legacy. Citing the two anonymous officials, the outlet claimed that some military leaders have warned that a potential recruitment campaign could be viewed as an attempt by the Pentagon to capitalize on Kirk’s assassination.
In response to the NBC News report, Sean Parnell, chief spokesman for the Pentagon, stated, “The media is so desperate to attack this administration’s success that they are now inventing lies about our recruitment efforts.”
Parnell added, “Leadership matters, and under the strong leadership of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth men and women are coming out in droves to serve this great nation.”
