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Pete Hegseth's use of 'beloved Canadian icon' Franklin the Turtle in a meme deemed 'violent' by publisher
The Canadian publisher of the Franklin the Turtle children’s book series condemned U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s use of the normally friendly anthropomorphic animal’s image in a “violent” meme posted to social media.
On Sunday, Hegseth shared the doctored image of Franklin — decked out in U.S. military gear — leaning out of a helicopter and firing a rocket launcher at one of three smaller boats below, each loaded with cargo and armed individuals.
The fake book is titled Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists, likely a reference to U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific oceans undertaken by President Donald Trump’s administration in recent months.
“For your Christmas wish list…,” Hegseth captioned the post, which has more than 168,000 likes and 24,000 shares as of Tuesday morning.
For your Christmas wish list… pic.twitter.com/pLXzg20SaL
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) December 1, 2025
In a statement issued Monday, Kids Can Press said the character “is a beloved Canadian icon who has inspired generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy and inclusivity.”
“We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image, which directly contradicts these values,” it wrote.
— kidscanpress (@KidsCanPress) December 1, 2025
The original series was started by author Paulette Bourgeois and illustrator Brenda Clark in 1986 and includes 29 books. Sharron Jennings took over writing in the early 2000s, and she and Clarke produced a further 25 books.
National Post has contacted all three for additional comment.
On Monday night, the Pentagon seemed to support Hegseth’s decision.
“We doubt Franklin the Turtle wants to be inclusive of drug cartels… or laud the kindness and empathy of narco-terrorists,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement provided to National Post.
Democrats were also quick to call out the meme, including Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who said Hegseth “is not a serious person.”
“He is in the national command authority for nuclear weapons, and last night he’s putting out, on the internet, turtles with rocket-propelled grenades,” Kelly told reporters on Monday, per CBS News.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, meanwhile, called Hegseth “a national embarrassment.”
“Tweeting memes in the middle of a potential armed conflict is something no serious military leader would ever even think of doing,” Schumer said, according to The Washington Post .
Representative Adam Smith of Washington questioned why someone would joke about killing people.
“And this is your response to tweet out some joke about a cartoon turtle,” Smith told reporters, as reported by NBC News .
The meme came two days after The Washington Post first reported that Hegseth had given a direct order for a second strike to eliminate two survivors following a first strike on an alleged drug boat in early September.
Hegseth pushed back, calling it “fake news,” and insisting the strikes are “lawful under both U.S. and international law.”
“As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,’” he wrote on X.
“The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Monday’s press briefing that the commanding officer for the operation, Adm. Frank Bradley, was “well within his authority and the law” to ensure the threat was eliminated.
Later Monday, Hegseth also suggested Bradley was the one who made the call.
“I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since,” he wrote on X.
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