Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth was confronted over Donald Trump’s mental state as he was grilled in Congress over the president’s “unhinged” social media tirades and apparent Jesus complex.
But in a wild exchange as the Iran war entered another day, Hegseth insisted that Trump was the “sharpest and most insightful commander-in-chief we’ve had in generations” after being asked if the increasingly erratic 79-year-old was placing lives at risk.
“It pains me to even have to ask this about our president, but my constituents’ lives are at stake,” San Diego Democrat Sara Jacobs told Hegseth during a Capitol Hill hearing on Tuesday.
“Do you believe that the president is mentally stable enough to be the commander-in-chief?”
Hegseth was not impressed.
“Did you ask the same question of Joe Biden for four years?” he clapped back.
“Mr. Secretary, Joe Biden is not the President. Mr. Trump has been president for a year and a half,” said Jacobs, whose congressional district in California takes in Naval Base San Diego, the principal homeport of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
But the defense secretary was indignant, telling her: “I won’t even engage with the level of disparagement that you’re putting on the commander-in-chief. He’s the sharpest and most insightful commander-in-chief we’ve had in generations.”
The fiery exchange came as Hegseth testified for the first time since the war began on February 28. The deeply unpopular conflict has since resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service officers along with countless Iranians, a global energy crisis, and more pain at the pump for consumers.
But as the war has dragged on, Trump’s health has become a growing concern, partly because of the incendiary posts he keeps putting out, sometimes in the middle of the night when most Americans are sleeping.
One post, for instance, declared that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not adhere to his demands on the war.
Another post, which Jacobs presented during Wednesday’s hearing, featured an image of Trump as a Christ-like figure, with a divine light emanating from his hands as he heals a stricken man in a hospital bed, set against a backdrop of American imagery, such as the U.S. flag and bald eagles.
The president eventually took the blasphemous image down after a backlash, including within his own MAGA ranks, and he gave a bizarre explanation for the post.
“It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better,” he insisted, despite it not being the only time Trump has pushed out memes depicting him as Jesus.
Jacobs, holding up the image, asked Hegseth: “How can I explain this next post to my constituents?”
“I’m Jewish, so this doesn’t really bother me, but my understanding is that this is quite offensive to many Christians. So how do you explain this post?” she added.
Once again, Hegseth responded with indignation towards the Congresswoman and flattery towards the president.
“I’m not here to explain the post. We have an incredible commander-in-chief, okay, who puts our troops first,” he said.
“Did you want to ask that question after you and your fellow Democrats defended Joe Biden, who could barely speak?” he added.
But Jacobs informed the former Fox & Friends co-host that the mental health of the president was a bipartisan issue.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene said he’s out of control and he’s gone insane. Candace Owens said the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked. Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson—who you used to work with—Alex Jones, Stephanie Grisham, the list could go on,” she said.
“So how do I explain to my constituents that while they are in harm’s way, their commander-in-chief is posting these unhinged posts?”
Wednesday’s hearing before the House Armed Services Committee is being held to discuss the administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion.
But things got off to an animated start when Hesgseth was confronted by protesters as he entered the hearing with his wife, one holding a poster that read “arrest Hegseth.”
The hearing took place as the war hit its 60th day, with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz still throttling one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.
Before the hearing on Wednesday, Trump also put out another head-scratching post on his Truth Social platform, featuring an AI generated photo of the president dressed in a dark suit and sunglasses while carrying a military style rifle.
“Iran can’t get their act together,” Trump wrote at 4 am.
“They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!”
