Trump Doubles Down on Hegseth, RFK Jr. as Impeachment Vote Nears
(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump on Sunday publicly rallied behind two Cabinet officials now in Democrats’ impeachment crosshairs, branding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “very fine people.”
Addressing reporters, the president described Kennedy as “a very popular guy,” while offering unequivocal backing for Hegseth’s conduct of the war with Iran.
Trump contended that the only two black marks against Hegseth amounted to “winning two wars,” a reference to the Iran conflict and the US military operation in Venezuela that ended with the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
The president also told Democrats to shift their focus to urgent national priorities, saying they “gotta get back to the country.”
The comments land as the House of Representatives prepares to vote this week on whether to impeach Hegseth. The defense secretary has pledged to fight the effort, firing back with a string of defiant videos posted on social media.
Vance should have backed the war more forcefully, Trump says
Trump also said many people had objected to Vice President JD Vance’s remarks tying Republican midterm losses to the Iran war, adding that Vance should have voiced firmer support for the military campaign.
The president moved to play down talk of a split with his vice president. He insisted that a viral mini-essay Vance posted on Nov. 4 to the US social media platform X, dissecting the 2026 midterm results, had not opened any rift. Trump rejected the idea that the post exposed deeper disagreement inside the administration and said it had done nothing to strain their relationship.
“A lot of people didn’t like his comments. But not me,” he said.
Trump added that Vance was right on most points but omitted one crucial statement: whether the administration would make the same decision to go to war again. In Trump’s view, the answer should be yes.
Vance, who had voiced misgivings about a possible war with Iran before fighting began, did not explicitly defend the decision in his post. He argued that anyone who believes the war was worth its political price, including the risk of Republicans losing control of the Senate for the next six years, should make that case openly.
“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, then do so,” Vance wrote, stressing that an honest debate must acknowledge the potential political costs.
He closed by saying the reason for the Republican losses was already clear, and that any sincere discussion of the party’s future had to start from that reality.
Addressing reporters, the president described Kennedy as “a very popular guy,” while offering unequivocal backing for Hegseth’s conduct of the war with Iran.
Trump contended that the only two black marks against Hegseth amounted to “winning two wars,” a reference to the Iran conflict and the US military operation in Venezuela that ended with the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
The president also told Democrats to shift their focus to urgent national priorities, saying they “gotta get back to the country.”
The comments land as the House of Representatives prepares to vote this week on whether to impeach Hegseth. The defense secretary has pledged to fight the effort, firing back with a string of defiant videos posted on social media.
Vance should have backed the war more forcefully, Trump says
Trump also said many people had objected to Vice President JD Vance’s remarks tying Republican midterm losses to the Iran war, adding that Vance should have voiced firmer support for the military campaign.
The president moved to play down talk of a split with his vice president. He insisted that a viral mini-essay Vance posted on Nov. 4 to the US social media platform X, dissecting the 2026 midterm results, had not opened any rift. Trump rejected the idea that the post exposed deeper disagreement inside the administration and said it had done nothing to strain their relationship.
“A lot of people didn’t like his comments. But not me,” he said.
Trump added that Vance was right on most points but omitted one crucial statement: whether the administration would make the same decision to go to war again. In Trump’s view, the answer should be yes.
Vance, who had voiced misgivings about a possible war with Iran before fighting began, did not explicitly defend the decision in his post. He argued that anyone who believes the war was worth its political price, including the risk of Republicans losing control of the Senate for the next six years, should make that case openly.
“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, then do so,” Vance wrote, stressing that an honest debate must acknowledge the potential political costs.
He closed by saying the reason for the Republican losses was already clear, and that any sincere discussion of the party’s future had to start from that reality.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any
responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos,
licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues
related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Comments
No comment