Molly Riley / The White House / Public domain
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump defended Pete Hegseth at a White House briefing Monday as the defense secretary faces an impeachment push by Rep. Thomas Massie, saying he would stand by Hegseth and criticizing the Kentucky Republican.
“Yeah, I’ll stand by,” Trump said when asked about his support for Hegseth. “We won two wars. He was in charge. We all won. I had great people.”
“We won two wars. We won two wars and we’ve made the world a lot safer place,” Trump said during an exchange with reporter Kaitlan Collins about the effort to impeach Hegseth.
Trump called Massie “a loser” and “a stone-cold loser.” Turning to Collins, he said: “Just like you’re a loser at CNN. Just like your ratings are a loser.”
The president also said troops support Hegseth. “The soldiers, the actual soldiers, the great people that do the work, the great patriots, they love Pete Hegseth,” he said. Trump ended that part of his remarks by saying: “He’s done a very good job.”
The remarks put Trump’s public support for his defense secretary on display as Massie’s impeachment effort reaches the House. Trump’s descriptions of military victories and support among troops were his assessment of Hegseth’s record.
Archive photo: Trump and Hegseth at an April 30, 2025, Cabinet meeting. Official White House photo by Molly Riley, cropped to 16:9. It was not taken at Monday’s briefing.
JBizNews Desk | Washington
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