President Donald Trump said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is doing a “great job” despite a couple of reported missteps a mere couple months into his tenure.
The president talked with reporters during Monday’s Easter Egg Roll about Hegseth’s job performance in light of him sharing military attack plans in a Signal group chat, The New York Times reported, adding any anxiety about this was a “waste of time.”
“He’s doing a great job — ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” Trump said. The president was referring to a group in Yemen the United States attacked last month.
A report in New York Times included information that Hegseth shared facts about the strikes on March 15 before they even happened.
Those details were shared in a thread that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, four people with knowledge of the chat divulged.
Those details were also shared in a separate Signal chat that included the editor of The Atlantic.
It appears a Trump has been reluctant to fire any of his top officials and would prefer to see Hegseth stand up for himself. He does not want to give in to “fake news” media. Hegseth himself called the report one of many “hit pieces” against him.
The secretary, who was attending the Easter Egg Roll with his family, added he and Trump “on the same page all the way.”
Hegseth then pointed to the kids participating in the egg roll.
“These kids right here, this is why we’re fighting the fake news media,” Hegseth said.
The pair talked about the report Sunday night when Trump told Hegseth he blamed “leakers” for the article.
According to NBC News, Hegseth said it is possible disgruntled former employees leaked the information about his use of Signal group chats.
“You know, what a big surprise that a bunch of leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax,” Hegseth said.
“This is what the media does,” Hegseth added. “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.”
