Trump Makes His Feelings Clear About Pete Hegseth After ‘treasonous Leakers’ Rant Over Weapons Stockpile

President Donald Trump felt nan request to take sides his embattled Pentagon boss, erstwhile Fox News play big Pete Hegseth, aft a bid of bombshell reports indicating that nan Department of Defense has blown done astir each nan precision-guided rockets successful its inventory and could return years to replenish those stocks.

In a 148-word station connected Truth Social Thursday, Trump accused news organizations of “spreading mendacious and wholly unfounded rumors” astir his narration pinch nan defense caput and insisted he’s “very happy” pinch Hegseth’s occupation performance.

“Everything has been extraordinary, including our onslaught connected Venezuela, wherever nan consequence was accomplished successful little than 1 day, allowing america to bring 1 of nan worst criminals anyplace successful nan World, Nicolas Maduro, to Justice! Likewise, Iran, wherever nan state has been decimated for nan intent of NOT ALLOWING IT TO EVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, is going very well,” Trump wrote.

The president went connected to declare that Hegseth, a erstwhile awesome successful nan Army National Guard who has presided complete nan firings of much than 2 twelve elder admirals and generals and personally edited promotion lists to contradict advancement to female and officers and officers of colour is “highly respected wrong nan Military, and has made tremendous improvements, including getting free of DEI, and expanding recruitment to historical levels.”

He closed retired his missive pinch an onslaught connected The Washington Post, which earlier this week reported connected a confrontation betwixt him and Hegseth astatine past Friday’s furniture gathering complete precision munition shortages he’d believed to person “been fixed,” calling nan reporting “treasonous.”

Publicly, Trump claims nan U.S. has “massive amounts” of nan costly weapons and has said that “large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to nan U.S. arsenic needed” while lashing retired a “leakers” for providing accusation astir nan depleted stockpiles to nan press.

But nan reality of America’s post-Cold War defense business guidelines is that nan fewer awesome defense contractors that remained amid a activity of consolidation aft nan autumn of nan Soviet Union don’t person nan capacity to nutrient weapons specified arsenic nan Patriot aerial defense missile, nan Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, aliases nan Terminal High Altitude Area Defense rocket utilized to intercept ballistic missiles astatine a standard that would switch nan thousands that person been expended since Trump started an unprovoked warfare against Iran this past February.

Concerns astir nan gait astatine which American forces person expended nan costly munitions person persisted among defense officials for months, moreover arsenic Hegseth has publically insisted that each is well.

At slightest 1 elder management charismatic who has spoken to The Independent has expressed concerns that nan erstwhile Fox talking caput has been presenting overly rosy forecasts of imminent occurrence successful nan war.

According to nan Post, nan defense chief’s consequence erstwhile confronted by nan president was to blasted his deputy, Stephen Feinberg.

Trump’s look of support for Hegseth comes hours aft he lashed retired astatine nan antagonistic reporting connected nan weapons proviso concerns successful a abstracted Truth Social post, claiming that contractors “are building nan largest number of plants and factories successful our country’s history” and calling for “long-term jailhouse sentences” for “leakers.

“Defense companies are building nan largest number of plants and factories successful our country’s history. The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long word jailhouse sentences will beryllium sought!” he vowed.

But aggregate management spokespersons person claimed alternatively that nan unflattering stories are fabricated alternatively than inaccurate.

One of them, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, said a confrontation betwixt Trump and Hegseth “literally ne'er happened” and added that Trump “has nan utmost assurance successful Secretary Hegseth.”