Even as the conflict in Iran puts stress on Americans’ wallets, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth seems determined to continue it. According to a new report, he believes that “blowing s*** up” is the best way to keep his own job.
An unnamed source “familiar with Hegseth’s current mindset” told that to CNN. The source also said Hegseth is “very trigger happy.”
CNN’s report said that Hegseth has been “one of the biggest cheerleaders” of the U.S. attacks on Iran since President Donald Trump met with a small group of advisors to discuss a possible military campaign alongside Israel. In late February, the president announced that the U.S. had conducted airstrikes on Iran – where a pro-U.S. government was toppled in the 1970s – and the conflict carries on.
Three sources cited by CNN said that Hegseth “downplayed the inherent risks of the conflict spiraling out of control.” Per the outlet, defense secretaries in the past would have stressed the potential pitfalls of attacking Iran. Experts cited by Audacy shortly after the attacks were announced warned about the strength of the current regime in Iran, the likelihood of needing to send in ground troops to win a war there and potential impacts on the U.S. economy.
For example, average national gas prices in the U.S. had climbed higher than $4 per gallon by this Tuesday as the important Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. With higher gas comes higher prices for goods that need to be transported from one place to another. As gas prices rise, Trump’s approval rating has also faltered.
Recent polling from the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that nearly two thirds of Americans think the president is handling Iran poorly. Raymond La Raja, professor of political science at UMass Amherst and co-director of the poll said those results give the administration a weak standing for any escalation of the war.
Quinnipiac University polling from earlier in March found that just 37% of voters approved of the way Hegseth was handling his job. CNN noted that Trump selected Hegseth, a former Fox News host with little military leadership experience, for his position in part to bombastically defend the president’s actions on TV.
“The president wants Pete to be who he is, which is his combative, patriotic and outspoken nature,” a senior White House official told CNN. “The president appreciates that about him and wants him to keep doing that.”
However, the sources cited by the outlet also noted that it is becoming more difficult to justify the conflict. Along with the strain on the U.S. economy, American servicemembers have already died amid the fighting.
At the same time, the conflict has been a “boon” for Hegseth, said CNN. Multiple sources cited by the outlet said that, before the war, he was sometimes relegated to the “back bench” of Trump’s cabinet. Now, he has more opportunities to do “what he was hired for: performing for an audience of one,” CNN said.
“It has helped bolster Hegseth’s standing, as his tenure has included several self-inflicted missteps, such as his use of Signal to discuss war plans, that have created persistent headaches for the White House, multiple U.S. officials said,” CNN added. It said that Trump has even suggested that Hegseth wants to keep the conflict going.
Since the start of Trump’s second term, Hegseth has made headlines for changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, and changing his own title with it, as well has his new demands for military members. Previous reports have also covered Hegseth’s fears about being assassinated and his battle with artificial intelligence company Anthropic.
Hegseth also weighed in this week on controversy surrounding military helicopters that apparently stopped by Kid Rock’s home in Nashville, Tenn.
Thank you @KidRock @USArmy,” Hegseth said in a Tuesday X post. “Pilots suspension LIFTED. No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.”
While CNN’s sources indicated that Hegseth wants to “blow s*** up” to keep his own job, the report comes on the heels of the release of Bureau of Labor Statistics data that showed U.S. employment edged down by 92,000 jobs in February. A March 11 report from The New York Times said the conflict in Iran had already cost the U.S. more than $11.3 billion and Fortune reported March 2 that the cost of the strikes could reach $210 billion, citing the Penn Wharton Budget Model.
“A month ago, analysts could only project what the Iran war might cost the average American. Now the wide-ranging toll is showing up in everyday budgets and weighing heavily on consumer sentiment,” Investopedia said this week.
After CNN published its report on Hegseth, the Pentagon replied to its request for comment.
“It is the duty of the Secretary of War to present President Trump with clear, decisive military options,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said, using the agency’s preferred title for the secretary of defense. “Secretary Hegseth is leading the way in delivering on the President’s objectives with precision and resolve – ensuring the Commander-in-Chief has every possible option at his disposal.”
