'Here we go again': Trump paints Hegseth as victim at White House Easter egg roll
President Donald Trump brushed off allegations that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had shared secret war plans with his wife, brother and lawyer on a second Signal chat.
At Monday's White House Easter egg roll event, Trump was forced to defend Hegseth after The New York Times broke news about the latest scandal. The president was asked if he still had confidence in Hegseth.
"I really do," Trump replied. "I mean, I hear they're doing that whole thing again. Here we go again. Just a waste of time. He is doing a great job."
"Pete's doing a great job. Everybody's happy with him," the president added, despite four high-level firings at the Pentagon in the past week. "It's just fake news. They just bring up stories. I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees.
"You know, he was put there to get rid of a lot of people. He's put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that's what he's doing. So you don't always have friends when you do that."
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Trump seemed annoyed when reporters pressed him on the issue.
"You bring it up, Signal again?" he complained. "I thought they gave that up two weeks ago."
"It's all just the same old stuff from the media," Trump added. "That's an old one. Try finding something new."