FOR THE WORLD TO SEE

I Know Exactly What Trump Has in Store For Hegseth: Author

Michael Wolff predicts that the defense secretary’s firing, should it come to fruition, will be a spectacle for all to see.

If the end his near for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the president’s longtime biographer says Donald Trump will not deliver a pink slip privately, but will fire him in front of the whole world.

Hegseth, fighting for his job while war with Iran drags on and he faces impeachment calls, lashed out at the media and Democrats during a Tuesday morning press conference. For now, the White House is standing by him—but if that changes, Michael Wolff says Trump already knows how he will let him go.

“This moment in his career—it is the most important moment,” Wolff tells the Inside Trump’s Head podcast. “Will he be ignominiously fired? And he’ll be fired—if he is fired, he’ll be fired with a post, so he’ll know his fate when we all know his fate at that singular moment. ‘Will it come? Won’t it come?’ I mean, he has no idea because Trump has no idea yet.”

Wolff said Hegseth’s press conference—his first since May—shows that he is appealing solely to Trump, who loves when others know that he holds all the cards.

“This news conference had an audience of one. He is defending himself to his boss, Donald Trump,” Wolff told co-host Joanna Coles. “Trump is in a position that he likes to be in. I mean, the position that gives him the most satisfaction: ‘Maybe I will fire him, maybe I won’t fire him. Let’s see.’ Minute to minute, he doesn’t know. But what Trump likes to do, likes to feel, and likes other people to understand is that all of the power is in his hands.”

“This is true about so much less than it was before the midterms,” Wolff continued. “But he still very clearly has the power either to get rid of Hegseth or to let him continue in his job. So that’s what this press conference was about: ‘Please, please, please, Mr. President. Don’t fire me.’”

The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.

During his news conference, Hegseth described the articles of impeachment introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie as “political spectacle” and a “personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.” Massie’s impeachment attempt ultimately fell short on Tuesday night, but another challenge from a Democrat-majority House could come as soon as January.

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Hegseth has compared his impeachment to that of his political idol, the president.

“We’ve seen this show before,” Hegseth said. “They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call. They impeached him again in his final week in office. Both times they failed. Both times he came back stronger, and the American people sent him back to the White House. Now they’re trying a third time. This time against a member of his Cabinet.”

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