President Donald Trump reasserted his support for Pete Hegseth in a Tuesday interview with ABC News, refusing to pander to a “stupid question” on his confidence in the defense secretary.
Trump sat down for the exclusive interview with the network where he addressed several talking points from his first 100 days as president. At one point, anchor Terry Moran probed Trump on the recent fallout at the Pentagon and asked how he was handling Hegseth’s missteps, like forming several, revealing group chats on the commercial messaging app Signal.
“I had a talk with him, and whatever I said I probably wouldn’t be inclined to tell you,” Trump told Moran. “But we had a good talk. He’s a talented guy. He’s young. He’s smart, highly educated. And I think he’s gonna be a very good defense—hopefully a great defense secretary.”
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When asked by Moran if he had a “hundred percent confidence” in Hegseth, Trump retorted back and called it a “stupid question.”
“I don’t have a hundred percent confidence in anything, OK? Anything,” Trump replied. “Do I have a hundred percent? It’s a stupid question.”
“It’s a pretty important position,” Moran stressed.
“No, no, no,” Trump responded. “You don’t have a hundred percent. Only a liar would say, ‘I have a hundred percent confidence.’ I don’t have a hundred percent confidence that we’re gonna finish this interview.”
Moran swiftly responded, “We will.”
The Pentagon has been in the midst of a turnover following an investigation into leaks that left several, high-ranking employees fired. Hegseth has subsequently been at the epicenter of less-than-flattering headlines as a result, with some of his former employees questioning his ability to assume the demanding role.
The defense secretary was also caught in the midst of two Signal scandals where it was revealed that he had made two group chats on the app to discuss military operations in Yemen. One group chat included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, while the other—made by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz—inadvertently included the editor in chief of The Atlantic.
Hegseth has clapped back at the purported narratives about him swirling around from former employees and told reporters during the White House’s Easter Egg Roll April 21: “They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.”
“Not going to work with me, because we’re changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of war fighters and anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter,” he continued.
“I have spoken with the president and we are going to continue fighting,” Hegseth added at the time. “On the same page all the way.”
