Hegseth Answers Impeachment Resolution With Deranged Press Conference
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a “news conference” on Tuesday in which he sought to defend himself from the eight impeachment charges the House will vote on Tuesday afternoon, saying that the war in Iran is going great and that impeaching him is akin to attacking American troops. Yeah, he actually said that.
“They answered the call, they executed, they won,” Hegseth said of the troops fighting in Iran, a conflict that has not been won and has only cost Americans billions in inflated prices and left the United States looking feckless and weak. “And on the eve of Veterans Day, these resolutions tell every one of them that their service was a crime.”
Hegseth went on, “If they want to come for the warriors, they’re going to have to come through me.”
Ultimately, Hegseth’s “news conference”—the first held at the Pentagon in six months—was an utter joke. Before the event began, Hegseth’s aides threatened the reporters in the room.
“A Pentagon press officer just told assembled reporters that anyone who does not behave with decorum will be thrown off the premises,” New York Times reporter Helene Cooper said.
“We asked if that meant no shouted questions and got no clarity,” Washington Post Pentagon reporter Tara Copp wrote in a post on X. “It’s the first time any of us could ever remember being threatened like this. Shouted questions are normal.”
Meanwhile, real journalists like Cooper and Copp were relegated to the back of the room, while questions were given to the friendly right-wing propaganda outlets Hegseth stacked the briefing with such as OANN, Gateway Pundit, Real America’s Voice, Daily Wire, and Fox News. It’s a sign Hegseth was scared of fielding actual questions and not the sycophantic drivel from conservative media cheerleaders.
As Hegseth fights for his political life, Republican lawmakers are practically begging him to step aside. Many of them blame Hegseth for their annihilation at the ballot box last Tuesday, and want Hegseth to resign so they won’t be forced to vote on his impeachment.
“Either Hegseth is going to step down—either he will resign voluntarily or Trump will fire him. Or if that does not happen, I think it is extremely likely, if not certain, that the House will impeach him,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Monday on his podcast.
Trump, however, appeared to like Hegseth’s news conference performance, writing in a post on his failing Truth Social platform: “Pete Hegseth gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!”
It’s a sign Trump has no intention of firing Hegseth before Republicans will be forced into a politically perilous vote on whether to impeach the man many GOP lawmakers blame for their electoral drubbing in last week’s midterms.
Trump, however, is a lame duck who doesn’t care about helping his party. Instead, he backed up Hegseth likely because the testosterone-fueled warmonger spoke of how great Trump is—the ultimate way to Dear Leader’s heart.
For example, Hegseth said at his sham news conference that his impeachment is akin to Trump’s first impeachment over Trump’s attempt to extort Ukrainian leaders, saying “we’ve seen this show before. They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call.”
“We’ve never had a better commander in chief. Full stop. I get to watch him every day. He lives and breathes America First and it’s the honor of a lifetime to be his secretary of war,” Hegseth said.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who introduced the articles of impeachment, should add a ninth one for that absurd comment alone.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos
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