Trump breaks silence on Pete Hegseth ‘row’ as he boasts about Iran and Venezuela | World | News
Mr Trump wrote: “The Fake News, as usual, is spreading false and completely unfounded rumors. I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing.” He went on to praise Mr Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon, saying he was “highly respected within the Military” and had overseen “tremendous improvements”, including ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and boosting military recruitment. The President’s comments came after The Washington Post reported claims that he had privately clashed with Mr Hegseth over concerns about US munitions stockpiles and whether shortages could limit military options in Iran.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, reported claims that Mr Trump questioned why he had not been fully informed about the issue during discussions at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
According to the report, the alleged disagreement centred on claims that shortages of long-range missiles and air defence interceptors were affecting military planning as the conflict with Iran continued.
It also reported that Mr Hegseth blamed his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, for failing to ensure the President was fully briefed on the issue.
The White House has denied the report.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she was present at Camp David with both Mr Trump and Mr Hegseth and insisted the reported confrontation “literally never happened”, adding that the President continued to have confidence in his Defence Secretary.
In his Truth Social post, Mr Trump also defended his administration’s recent foreign policy actions.
He claimed operations involving Venezuela and Iran had been successful, writing that the result in Venezuela had been accomplished “in less than one day”.
The President also claimed Iran had been “decimated”, writing: “Iran, where the country has been decimated for the purpose of NOT ALLOWING IT TO EVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, is going very well!”
He further credited Mr Hegseth with increasing military recruitment “to historic levels” and removing DEI initiatives from the armed forces.
The POTUS concluded by insisting the reports published by The Washington Post were “completely FALSE”.
