Speaking during a Pentagon press conference on the conflict with Iran and the Operation Epic Fury strikes against the Islamic Republic, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shut down a reporter’s ridiculous and provocative question, defending the Trump Administration’s approach to conflict in the region.
The reporter began by asking what Hegseth is thinking about and going through as he orders bombings of people and places abroad, saying, “I’ve heard you talk a lot about bombing people and places, and when you give these orders to carry out this extreme level of violence, what’s going through your mind and your body?”
Continuing, the reporter insisted that he must be on a “power trip” when he gives those orders, saying, “Do you have, like, an adrenaline rush? Are you scared? Do you feel like you’re on a power trip? Just walk us through and paint us a picture of what it feels like, mentally and physically.”
Not missing a beat, Hegseth immediately shot back by mocking the very nature of the reporter’s ridiculous and inappropriate question, one that is more or less wholly irrelevant to the ongoing operation and what is happening as part of it, saying, “It’s a very TMZ question.”
Continuing, he noted that his thought process revolves around making sure that America’s brave men and women serving the nation abroad come home after destroying America’s enemies. He said, “My only thought process is to ensure that our warfighters have everything they need to be successful, defeat and destroy the enemy, and they come home.”
Adding to that, the Secretary of War argued that those service members should be and are fully empowered to use whatever resources they can to fight and win while putting themselves in as little way of harm as possible, saying, “I want them to feel empowered to have every authority they need within our rules and within our law to bring maximum violence to the enemy.”
Concluding that point, Hegseth noted that war is difficult and requires difficult things, but he wants America’s war fighters to know that they are fully empowered to do whatever they need to do to come home safe after destroying the enemy, to the extent that is possible. He said, “War requires doing difficult things. But I want our people to feel empowered. So it’s our guys that come home and they’re guys that do not.”
"*" indicates required fields
Watch him here:
During the same press conference, Hegseth skewered America’s euorpean “allies,” saying, “Europe and Asia have benefited from our protection for decades, but the time for free-riding is over. America and the free world deserve allies who are capable, who are loyal, and who understand that being an ally is not a one-way street, it is a two-way street.”
He added, “We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do and might want to start doing less talking and having less fancy conferences in Europe, and get a boat. This is much more their fight than ours. On this core mission, America’s will is unshakable. Our capabilities unmatched, our blockade only growing and going global. As the president said, we have all the time in the world. Iran has a historic chance to make a serious deal and the ball is in their court.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video