Trump And Hegseth In Lockstep As Cabinet Convenes To Celebrate Wins

WASHINGTON — The self-described most transparent administration in history once again threw its doors open to the public with a three-hour live-streamed Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, one in which the president once again made it clear that he stands by his Secretary of War.

The meeting, at times meandering and broad in its focus, nevertheless allowed the White House to firmly and publicly defend its most recent moves: in Venezuela, on the southern border, and with regard to domestic policy priorities. But the highlight of the meeting came when the president and Pete Hegseth addressed news reporting about the September 2 strikes on drug cartel boats in the Caribbean.

The Washington Post reported this week that Hegseth had personally given a “spoken directive” to “kill everybody,” citing two people who allegedly had “direct knowledge” of the matter. The report framed the situation as if Hegseth and his commanders saw smoke from the wreckage clear, observed two men still alive, and then the commander ordered a second strike in order to “comply with Hegseth’s instructions.”

The New York Times reported Tuesday, however, that Hegseth’s directive ordering the strike on the boat did not specifically address what should happen if the first missile didn’t fully complete the job, and his order was not responding to footage showing that two people had survived. The Times noted that Admiral Mitch Bradley ordered both the initial strike and several follow-up strikes that killed survivors and sank the boat, and during the operation, Hegseth did not give him any other orders.

But the initial Washington Post reporting suggested Hegseth had violated the laws of war, prompting wild speculation from reporters and Democrats that Hegseth had committed war crimes and could be removed from his post. On Tuesday, during his cabinet meeting, the president briefly defended the War Department, but let Hegseth take the lead in his response, leading to a remarkable moment where the public could watch both the face of the president and that of the Secretary of War as they dealt with the high profile topic.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (2nd-L) speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

As Hegseth spoke, the president nodded on in agreement. He had seated Hegseth directly to his left, in an apparent show of support.

“We sunk the boat and eliminated the threat,” Hegseth explained. “It was the right call, we have his back, and the American people are safer because narco-terrorists know you can’t bring drugs through the water, and eventually on land if necessary, to the American people. We will eliminate that threat and we are proud to do it.”

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“So you didn’t see any survivors?” pressed a reporter. “To be clear, after that first shot.”

“I did not personally see survivors,” Hegseth said. “The thing was on fire … this is called the fog of war.”

The Secretary of War proceeded to then tear into the reporter, as the president grinned and nodded along in support.

“This is what you in the press don’t understand,” Hegseth said. “You sit in your air-conditioned offices or up on Capitol Hill, and you nitpick, or you plant fake stories in the Washington Post, about ‘kill everybody,’ phrases on anonymous sources not based on anything, not based on any truth at all, and then you want to throw out really irresponsible terms about American heroes, about the judgment they made …”

“President Trump has empowered commanders to do what is necessary, which is dark and difficult things in the dead of night on behalf of the American people,” he added. “We support them, and we will stop the poisoning of the American people.”

When the reporter pressed again, asking how long after the first strike the second strike occurred, Hegseth responded, “I couldn’t tell you the exact time,” adding with clear annoyance when the reporter continued to press, “I already stated my answer quite clearly.”

Let’s make one thing crystal clear:

Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since.

America is fortunate to have such men protecting…

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) December 1, 2025

Earlier on Tuesday, War Department Press Secretary Kingsley Cortes said in a press briefing that Hegseth has been very clear in every statement that the strikes were “presidentially directed and the chain of command functions as it should.”

“We make sure that commanders on the ground, their positions are taken into account, and they are able to tell us and make decisions if they see things that need to be flagged,” she explained. “But at the end of the day, the secretary and the president are the ones directing these strikes and any follow-on strikes like those which were directed by Admiral Bradley, the secretary 100% agrees with.”