Pete Hegseth apparently created a huge mess for Donald Trump in his rush to keep the 79-year-old president happy.
Insiders have revealed that the defense secretary’s abrupt maneuver to cancel the deployment of U.S. troops to Poland triggered an angry phone call from Trump, who was forced to explain that Poland was not one of the European allies that had earned his wrath.
Hegseth, 45, blindsided officials on both sides of the Atlantic last week when he canceled the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland at the eleventh hour. The decision stirred confusion within the Pentagon and quickly sparked a firestorm of criticism from American lawmakers and European allies.
Even the president was stumped by the move, a current and a former U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal.
Trump phoned Hegseth to demand an explanation for his decision to cancel the troop deployment, according to the outlet. During the conversation, Trump also told Hegseth that the U.S. shouldn’t treat Poland poorly, given its close ties to the White House.
An armored brigade from Fort Hood, Texas was supposed to go on a nine-month rotation to Poland, but Hegseth abruptly canceled that deployment in an effort to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Europe after Trump whined about European allies’ lack of support for his Iran war, according to CNN.
But Hegseth’s decision was a headscratcher for some officials because it was Germany—not Poland—that had criticized Trump’s war, the Journal reports.
Last month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz drew Trump’s ire when he said “the Iranians are clearly stronger than expected, and the Americans clearly have no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either,” adding that “a whole nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership.”
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast on Friday.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Journal that “President Trump appreciates all the secretary has done—and will continue to do—in executing the America First agenda within our military and prioritizing our warfighters like never before.” The Pentagon, meanwhile, said Trump and Hegseth “communicate constantly and are in lockstep regarding U.S. troop movements in Europe.”
“This is a slap in the face to Poland. It’s a slap in the face to our Baltic friends,” Nebraska Republican Don Bacon scolded Army leaders in a budget hearing last week.
Pawel Zalewski, Poland’s deputy defense minister, told the Journal that the U.S. was going to present Warsaw with options on ways “not to decrease American engagement in Poland.”
“We have offered to the Pentagon to host American soldiers on a permanent basis, and we understand what it means,” he said. “It means that we have to build a small city for this unit, and we are ready for that. We will cover the cost.”
Trump changed course on the deployment of troops to Poland in a bizarre Truth Social post on Thursday night that invoked the election win of Polish President Karol Nawrocki—which occurred almost a year ago.
“Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” he wrote.
