After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bragged about his blue suit standing out in a photo of NATO leaders, fashion expert Derek Guy told him what it really looked like...and it was not a flattering comparison.
Hegseth posted the photo along with the following caption to his X account:
"One of these things is not like the others… America First, always."
You can see his post and the photo below.
@PeteHegseth/X
Not long afterward, Guy—a Canadian men's fashion industry writer and commentator known as "the menswear guy" on X—made the following observation:
"historically, this color was only worn in chocolate factories."
He posted a photo of the character Violet Beauregard in her blueberry form as depicted in the 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Paramount Pictures
For those who need a reminder, the film follows Charlie Bucket, a poor boy who discovers a coveted Golden Ticket inside a chocolate bar. This ticket grants him entry into Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory, where he joins four other children from different parts of the world on a tour with some macabre results.
In the Inventing Room, one of the children, Violet Beauregarde, is fascinated by the Magic Chewing Gum, a revolutionary stick of gum that contained an entire three-course meal: tomato soup, roast beef with baked potato, and blueberry pie.
Ignoring Wonka’s warnings about unresolved issues with the gum, Violet snatches it and begins chewing. As she reaches the third course—blueberry pie—her skin turns deep blue, and she begins to swell uncontrollably. She continues expanding until she resembles a giant blueberry, filled to the brim with juice.
Wonka, unfazed, instructs the Oompa-Loompas to roll her away to the Juicing Room, where they will extract the excess juice in hopes of returning her to normal.
As far as people were concerned, the menswear expert's critique was on point.
Earlier, Hegseth reaffirmed his stance on the terms of a potential Ukraine-Russia peace deal, stating that his role was to "introduce realism to the conversation."
His remarks sparked strong backlash from NATO allies and even some members of his own party. However, Hegseth dismissed the idea that he had softened his position during a press conference with Poland’s defense minister.
He said:
"I stand by the comments that I made on that first day in the Ukraine Contact Group — and that's for all the press out there, who it's difficult for them to understand that."
"My job today and in Brussels was to introduce realism to the conversation. The reality that returning to 2014 borders as part of a negotiated settlement is unlikely. The reality of U.S. troops in Ukraine is unlikely. The reality of Ukraine membership in NATO as a part of negotiated settlement, unlikely."
"That said, I would never put constraints around what the president of the United States would be willing to negotiate with the sovereign leaders of both Russia and Ukraine."
He asserted that Ukraine would not regain all of its lost territory from Russia and would not be granted NATO membership, which would have served as the ultimate security guarantee against future aggression from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hegseth also made it clear that NATO would not participate in any potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Instead, European and other nations would be responsible for such efforts, with Europe bearing the financial burden. He emphasized that no American troops would be involved in the operation.
@JamesTate121/X
