Trump predicts Hegseth will ‘get it together’ despite controversies
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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth during a meeting between President Donald Trump and the Norwegian Prime Minister in the Oval Office of the White House, on April 24.
PHOTO: HAIYUN LIANG/NYTIMES
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said he thinks embattled Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will “get it together,” telling the Atlantic he will stick with his choice to lead the Pentagon despite recent turmoil.
“I think he’s gonna get it together,” Mr Trump said in an April 24 interview with the magazine that was published on April 28. “I think he’s a smart guy. He is a talented guy. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s been beat up by this, very much so. But I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him.”
Asked if Mr Hegseth would stay in the job, Mr Trump responded, “Yeah, he’s safe.”
Mr Hegseth, a former Fox News host and a veteran of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has faced an uproar over sharing details
So far, however, Mr Trump and his team have stuck by Mr Hegseth despite suggestions, including from his former spokesman, that he might well be fired. That marks a departure from Mr Trump’s first term, when the president churned through several Cabinet secretaries and top staff in short order.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on April 28 that Mr Trump “absolutely has confidence in the secretary’s ability to lead the Pentagon. It’s why he nominated him for this position. It’s why the Senate voted to confirm him in this position.”
Mr Colin Carroll, who served as chief of staff to Deputy Defence Secretary Stephen Feinberg and was one of those fired for the alleged leaks, denied the accusation that he had done anything wrong in an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show.
Asked if Mr Hegseth is alright, Mr Carroll said “honestly, I don’t know – I’m not sure.”
“I have observed a Pete that is one Pete that crushes it in meetings,” he said, describing Mr Hegseth as masterful in a meeting at the Pentagon with visiting lawmakers.
“At the same time, I’ve seen the secretary in more internal meetings where he is super-focused on very, in my opinion, weird details, and very agitated and yelling,” he said. “It’s like a tale of two Petes.” BLOOMBERG
