A White House aide reportedly admonished the U.S. Army for picking a Black woman for a ceremonial role that would have her appear in photos next to the president, saying that Donald Trump doesn’t want to be seen next to Black women during military events.

The New York Times reported earlier today that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked two Black officers and two women officers from promotions, part of a larger pattern he has demonstrated of wanting white men in military leadership positions as he criticizes “woke” military leaders.

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The New York Times article describes an exchange that occurred between Hegseth’s chief of staff, Ricky Buria, and Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll last summer about the selection of Maj. Gen. Antoinette R. Gant to take command of the Military District of Washington. Gant is a Black woman, and Driscoll had selected Gant, who is a combat engineer who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new role would have meant that she would often appear next to Trump at ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery.

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“Mr. Buria told Mr. Driscoll that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events,” the Times reported, citing three unnamed officials “familiar with the exchange.”

Driscoll reportedly pushed back, saying, “The president is not a racist or sexist.” He brought up the issue again with another senior White House official, and Hegseth’s office “retreated” on the matter. Gen. Gant has been serving in the new position ever since.

“Gutter racism,” commented political historian Bob Mann on Bluesky.

The Times‘ article states that Hegseth has been personally involved with military promotions in ways that might not even be legal, as they interfere with the military’s merit-based promotions system. He personally struck the names of four people from a list of Army promotions to the rank of one-star general. The list was mostly white men, according to the Times, and the four names Hegseth struck were of two Black officers and two women.

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