{"id":30988,"date":"2026-08-07T10:46:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T05:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=30988"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:46:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T05:46:28","slug":"trump-defends-pete-hegseth-after-report-he-lashed-out-at-war-secretary-one-of-my-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=30988","title":{"rendered":"Trump defends Pete Hegseth after report he lashed out at war secretary: \u2018One of my best\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2Fnewspress-collage-z28h0sldp-1786079358397.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261786065000\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>President Trump expressed full-throated support for War Secretary Pete Hegseth Thursday \u2013 a day after a report claimed the president accused the Pentagon chief of misleading him about the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/06\/us-news\/trump-insists-us-has-massive-amounts-of-munitions-vows-to-jail-treasonous-leakers\/\">state of America\u2019s arms stockpile<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he\u2019s actually one of my best,\u201d Trump said of Hegseth, in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/trump-administration\/trump-pete-hegseth-defense-secretary-rcna591243\">interview with NBC News <\/a>Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m very good at this stuff.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Six months into the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/06\/world-news\/iran-warns-gulf-states-of-retaliation-if-us-launches-new-strikes\/\">Iran war<\/a>, and with the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/31\/opinion\/trump-is-facing-a-major-iran-war-hurdle-this-time-on-the-homefront\/\">critical midterm elections<\/a> fast approaching, the president gave no indication that he plans to shake things up at the Pentagon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth listen to questions from the press during a Cabinet meeting on Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David in Maryland.  <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSmart guy,\u201d Trump said of Hegseth. \u201cHe\u2019s very much into it. Respected by the military.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The president\u2019s praise for the former \u201cFox &amp; Friends Weekend\u201d co-host follows a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2026\/08\/05\/trump-hegseth-clashed-camp-david-over-iran-missile-depletion-concerns\/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzg1OTAyNDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzg3Mjg0Nzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3ODU5MDI0MDAsImp0aSI6IjM3MDkyOTEyLTFmOTQtNGQ1MS04MGY3LTYzNWRhMDM0OTFlNyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9uYXRpb25hbC1zZWN1cml0eS8yMDI2LzA4LzA1L3RydW1wLWhlZ3NldGgtY2xhc2hlZC1jYW1wLWRhdmlkLW92ZXItaXJhbi1taXNzaWxlLWRlcGxldGlvbi1jb25jZXJucy8ifQ.pIB-35ekR7wwxp4BsXc6NVTSzRe2LYnaeDtCN1Ufy40\">Washington Post report<\/a> Wednesday that he lashed out at Hegseth during a Camp David Cabinet meeting last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Trump reportedly fumed that munitions shortages threatened to limit US military options in Iran. The president told Hegseth that he thought the issue \u201chad been fixed,\u201d according to the outlet, which claimed the war secretary blamed his deputy for the miscommunication.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Both the White House and the Pentagon denied the Washington Post report, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt declaring it \u201cB.S.\u201d and War Department spokesman Sean Parnell calling it \u201cfictional.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Earlier Thursday, Trump took to Truth Social and asserted the US \u201c has massive amounts of \u2018munitions.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>President Trump, Hegseth and Jennifer Rauchet are pictured as Trump announces and signs an executive order establishing the Presidential Military Spouse Commission in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. <span class=\"credit\">Allison Robbert \/ Pool via CNP \/ SplashNews.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>President Trump speaks with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAdditionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the US as needed,\u201d Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/117046698987056229\">declared<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The president also threatened to jail the \u201cleakers\u201d claiming the US is running out of firepower.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country\u2019s history,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cThe \u2018leakers\u2019 of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a separate <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/117049594693768642\">Truth Social<\/a> post, Trump affirmed that he is \u201cextremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on Saturday, July 18, 2026.  <span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cEverything has been extraordinary, including our attack on Venezuela,\u201d the president added. \u201cPete is highly respected within the Military, and has made tremendous improvements, including getting rid of DEI, and increasing recruitment to historic levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his interview with NBC News, Trump was specifically asked about the possibility of replacing Hegseth with <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/05\/us-news\/ron-desantis-making-moves-for-2028-white-house-bid\/\">outgoing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like Ron, but Pete\u2019s doing a great job,\u201d Trump responded. \u201cI do like Ron. I get along very well with Ron. I could see Ron for something, but Pete\u2019s doing a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump reportedly considered tapping DeSantis for the top Pentagon post in December 2024 amid concerns Hegseth wouldn\u2019t be able to secure enough Senate support for confirmation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>DeSantis, who ran against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries, has been rumored in recent months to have interest in serving as the president\u2019s attorney general or war secretary.\u00a0The Florida governor\u2019s term ends in January. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just get along with Ron,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI could see something happening there, but not with Pete.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPete\u2019s doing a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump expressed full-throated support for War Secretary Pete Hegseth Thursday \u2013 a day after a report claimed the president accused the Pentagon chief of misleading him about the state of America\u2019s arms stockpile.\u00a0 \u201cI think he\u2019s actually one of my best,\u201d Trump said of Hegseth, in an interview with NBC News Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m very&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/newspress-collage-z28h0sldp-1786079358397.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1786065000&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}