The Secretary of War makes a big public spectacle of himself every chance he gets to talk about how great the war is going and how incredible Trump is for launching it. He’s been the guy in the administration who says things like “we negotiate with bombs” and “the world, the Middle East, our ungrateful allies in Europe, and even segments of our own press should be saying one thing to Trump: thank you.”
Hegseth was also, according to Trump, the war’s original proponent in his cabinet. “Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up and you said, ‘Let’s do it because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,’” Trump said in an aside to Hegseth during an event on Monday. The next day, Trump told reporters that Hegseth was disappointed that there might be a deal to end the war. “Pete didn’t want it to be settled,” he said.
There may come a time in which Trump finally turns on Hegseth, but for now, the president seems as enthusiastic about his War Secretary as Hegseth is about saying “lethal” and “overwhelming force.”