The defense secretary’s poor history with information security left even his supporters surprised that he managed to maintain secrecy on this occasion.
Supporters of MAGA were relieved when Donald Trump conducted an attack on Iran without the plans being compromised by his defense secretary.
One conservative user on X praised, “GREAT JOB, [Secretary Pete] Hegseth!,” sharing a Fox News video in which a reporter stated, “There were no leaks. No one was discussing this. For the last few days, there has been a total information blackout at the Pentagon concerning Iran.”
Another pro-MAGA commentator added, “Not one leak.” They continued, “Now the mainstream media, Democrats, liberals, and RINOs will go crazy, claiming he will drag us into another war. Congratulations to the Commander in Chief, Pete Hegseth, and the U.S. military, and thank you.”
On Saturday, Trump initiated bombing raids on three Iranian nuclear sites, thereby involving the U.S. in its fifth active military conflict in the Middle East, contrary to his campaign pledges to end the country’s “forever wars.”
The president asserted that Iran was just “a couple of weeks” from possessing nuclear strike capabilities, a statement that contradicted intelligence from his own officials, who suggested Iran was not creating nuclear weapons and would require a minimum of three years to do so if it changed course.
Hegseth was apparently not central to Trump’s decision to participate in Israeli military strikes on Iran, which commenced last week. According to White House sources cited by The Washington Post on Friday, the president instead consulted “a small group of lower-key but more experienced aides.”
This comes after the Defense Secretary was involved in a number of embarrassing security lapses, particularly the “Signalgate” affair, where The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently included in a group chat. In this chat, Hegseth was discussing airstrikes in Yemen with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and other Trump cabinet members.
On Sunday, several X users offered a more sarcastic take on his part in the weekend’s attacks. “We bombed Iran and Pete Hegseth didn’t leak it in a group chat beforehand?” one individual posted.
Another account posted, “BREAKING! Hegseth’s Phone Seized Before Iran Strike–Nation Cheers First Mission Without a Signal Leak.” The post added, “It seems all that was required was Airplane Mode and duct tape.”
Others took a more critical view of what his history implies about the White House’s approach to information security. “The fact that we celebrate instances when there are NO leaks during an attack reveals a great deal about this administration’s competence,” one user noted.