President-elect Donald Trump and his inner circle closed ranks around Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth on Friday, signaling they are behind him 100 percent despite a concerted smear campaign based on anonymous sources.
Trump on Friday posted on Truth Social:
“Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe. He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind,” he said. “He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
Trump then later in an interview with NBC News said he had confidence in Hegseth: “I do, I really do. He’s a very smart guy.”
Earlier in the day, Vice President-elect JD Vance gave lengthy comments reiterating his support:
Pete Hegseth is going to get his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, not a sham hearing before the American media. We believe Pete Hegseth is the right guy to lead the Department of Defense, that’s why President Trump nominated him. We’re not abandoning this nomination. We’re not going to make it easy for people to allow the media to determine who our secretary of defense is. Donald J. Trump, who just won the election by a very significant margin with the advise and consent of the United States Senate. That’s who determines who the Secretary of Defense is. I fully support Pete. I think Pete is going to get confirmed and we are completely behind him.
Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesman also batted down rumors that Trump was considering other people for the job.
“Stand with @PeteHegseth! He’s the ONLY option,” Cheung posted on X.
Another top aide in Trump’s inner circle, Steven Miller, posted: “#StandWithPete.”
Follow Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong on ”X”, Truth Social, or on Facebook.