Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth caught heat from political analysts and observers on Tuesday after he created another "acute crisis" within the Trump administration.
Hegseth announced on X that he was lifting the suspension for a pilot crew that flew an Apache helicopter near MAGA musician Kid Rock's home in Nashville, Tennessee, over the weekend. On Tuesday, multiple news outlets reported that the pilot crew was suspended pending further investigation.
During a press conference in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump said he would "look at" the suspension, and suggested that the pilots may have been defending Kid Rock because they like him.
"No punishment. No investigation," Hegseth wrote on X.
Political analysts and observers bashed Hegseth after the statement was released.
"Pete Hegseth is a disgrace," retired Navy intel officer Travis Akers posted on X.
"Helicopter gunships were used to intimidate a No Kings protest," military veteran John Jackson posted on X. "In violation of multiple DoD regulations, federal laws, and the First Amendment. Now Hegseth is immunizing this behavior. While they're trying to steal an election. This is an acute crisis. America won't take it."
"Of course, he overruled the Army. Because helicopters are toys," Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic, posted on X.
"The U.S. military is supposed to be apolitical, loyal to the U.S. Constitution and independent of any party or political movement," Idrees Ali, national security correspondent for Reuters, posted on X.
"'Standards,'" Jim LaPorta, national security coordinating producer at CBS News, posted on X.
"Had to check to make sure this isn’t a parody account," journalist Ryan Grim posted on X.
"If nothing else, the Supreme Court tomorrow, from what I see, can settle that piece that this — you're born here, you're an American citizen, regardless of your parents' status, regardless of your granddaddy's status, regardless of the color of your skin or where you're from," said Steele. "That, to me, is an important aspect of this. The flip side of that coin is what Donald Trump thinks, and I would love to get your thoughts when you look at those two pieces."
"Donald Trump thinks that his way to win the argument is to basically crap all over the judges," said Steele. "Now, I don't know Donald Trump has ever played a sport. Not likely, right?" Laughter spread around the table. "You don't — you can't game the game with the referees by ticking them off and calling them names, right? And so I don't understand what he thinks changes for him when he does what he does on Twitter and elsewhere to go after the justices as well."
"Yeah, there are good strategies in court and bad strategies in court," agreed Rosenberg. "To your point, Michael, I think calling the judges names, bad strategy, bad strategy. Now, I was a prosecutor, a federal prosecutor for a very long time. I actually subscribed completely to what Chief Justice John Roberts said, and people may disagree with me. That's fine. But in my experience, there weren't Obama judges and Clinton judges and Bush judges and Reagan judges. There were judges, right? There were men and women trying to get it right."
"I think most Americans held that view, in large measure," chimed in Steele.
"I hold that view. It's not past tense for me. I hold that view," said Rosenberg. "Now, where do you stand? Sometimes determines where you sit, right. And people look at things in different ways through different prisms. I get that too. But in any event, calling them names not a good strategy."
- YouTube youtu.be
CONTINUE READINGShow less
"He is WRONG!" Trump wrote on Truth Social later on Tuesday night. "Congressional approval has never been given on anything, in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the White House. In this case, even less so, because the Ballroom is being built with Private Donations, no Federal Taxpayer Money!"
Max Rose, a former Democratic lawmaker from New York, discussed Trump's comments during a segment on "Erin Burnett OutFront" on Tuesday.
"If Republican leadership had actually asserted their right and authority and obligation over the purse ... this would not even be happening in the first place," Rose said. "And Donald Trump still pursuing it is a gigantic middle finger to his own Republican leadership in the House and the Senate, basically saying, 'You are all fully owned subsidiaries of me and MAGA Inc., and I know you're not going to say anything.'"
CONTINUE READINGShow less
Moss ruled Executive Order 14290 "singles out two speakers and, on the basis of their speech, bars them from all federally funded programs."
The ruling declared the defunding direction "unlawful and unenforceable" and issued a permanent injunction barring agency defendants from implementing it. Moss made the ruling despite the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes NPR and PBS, having recently shut down following the executive order.
Watch the video below.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
CONTINUE READINGShow less
