Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth insulted former President Barack Obama’s intelligence while discussing the ongoing war in Iran during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
Hegseth made the disparaging remark after host Margaret Brennan questioned him about President Donald Trump’s claims that a U.S.-Iran deal will be reached on Sunday, with the Strait of Hormuz to reopen.
“How quickly will the U.S. blockade on Iran end? How quickly will they be able to sell their oil?” Brennan questioned Hegseth.
“Immediately is what the president has said. And that will be our expectation of the Iranians is that...” Hegseth began.
Brennan injected, “So tomorrow you’ll end the blockade if they sign it today?”
An irritated Hegseth responded, “Again, it’s performance based, Margaret,” before launching into his insult against Obama. “So, unlike Obama, President Trump is smart about these things. He’s not gonna just give it away, so ultimately the blockade will stay as the strait opens and then the blockade will open. And then the straits open, and if that takes, you know, 30 days to fully mature or two weeks to fully mature, but it will start immediately as the president has said.”
Hegseth and Brennan had another strained exchange elsewhere in the interview after she asked if U.S. troops would be involved in cleaning up nuclear dust in Iran.
“It’s an important point for those who are members of the U.S. military to understand whether you’re saying ground troops would be involved in cleaning up nuclear dust,” she asked.
“You’re saying that, you’re trying to put words in my mouth to create a headline,” Hegseth argued, prompting Brennan to note that she was simply asking.
Hegseth replied, “We have plans for everything, and should the president need a compel option, we have compel options and many different types of compel options. But right now, we’ve set the conditions for 60 days to ensure that that material is down blended, destroyed or removed.”
“Whatever the president decides is in the best interest of the United States of America, and the War Department is there to support that effort,” he added.
Watch Hegseth’s interview on “Face the Nation” below. Skip to the 5:58 mark to hear his comments about Obama.
