When Donald Trump decided to go to war with Iran, he chose to communicate his reasons for doing so primarily through brief conversations with reporters who reached him through his personal phone number.
The US president’s aimless approach created a vacuum, and Pete Hegseth stepped in, assuming the unofficial role of chief war spokesman.
“This has never been a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight now,” the U.S. Secretary of Defense declared at a Pentagon press conference on March 4.
“When they’re down, we’re going to hit them, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
At other times, Mr. Hegseth threatened to “fall from the sky” — “all day long” — and claimed the United States was “crushing the enemy.”
Hegseth had renamed his department the War Department last year, and now that the United States is at war, he seems to be enjoying every moment.
Yet as a representative of an extremely expensive conflict that most Americans do not support, Mr. Hegseth exposes the risks.
Pete Hegseth played a leading role in trying to sell the war to a skeptical American public – Roberto Schmidt/Getty
The White House is widely believed to have pushed him in front of cameras for interviews on programs such as CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
“He hates shows like this,” one source said. “The only time Trump would go out was if he said, ‘Hey, can you go on 60 Minutes?’
Some even believe that the President of the United States viewed Hegseth as his own insurance and deliberately adopted a more moderate stance on the war, while encouraging the Secretary of Defense to continue his agitation.
In an interview with 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday, Mr Hegseth declared that the war was “just beginning”.
A few hours later, the US president declared that the war was “very complete”, that the Iranian army had been effectively destroyed and that the war could end “very soon”.
“President Trump is probably setting him up,” said a former Trump White House official.
“He was scheduled to do that interview, and then if they wanted him to say it was wrapping up, they told him to do that.”
John Ulyot, a Marine Corps veteran who served as Mr. Hegseth’s press secretary last year, criticized his former boss’s “penchant for showmanship” and “self-promotion.”
He said it “may have furthered his career as a weekend cable news co-anchor, but it would be inappropriate for a secretary of defense, let alone when briefing on a major military operation.”
“The contrast between Hegseth and General Kane’s calm, no-nonsense approach is, frankly, embarrassing. President Trump deserves better, and so do our service members.”
At a Pentagon news conference about the war, Mr. Hegers was flanked by Gen. Dan Kaine, the even-tempered chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Mr Hegseth and Gen. Dan Cain, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Over the past two weeks, he has alternated between praising U.S. military successes, vowing to destroy America’s enemies and berating reporters.
On “Saturday Night Live,” comedian Colin Jost parodied him as a thin-skinned, aggressive, barely functioning alcoholic.
Colin Jost impersonates Pete Hegseth on Saturday Night Live – NBC
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was similarly derided during Trump’s first administration as an angry man who yelled at the media from behind a podium. After 15 months, Mr. Spicer was gone.
Questions have been raised about Mr Hegseth’s ability to handle issues that require greater sensitivity.
Last week, he blasted the media for putting the six U.S. soldiers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait – the number is now seven – on front pages.
“When a few drones fly over or something tragic happens, it becomes front-page news. I get it. The media just wants to embarrass the president,” he said. Some said he seemed to view wartime deaths as a public relations problem.
At some point, he will have to deal with the findings of a Pentagon investigation into the attack on a girls’ school in southern Iran that killed more than 150 people.
According to reports, a preliminary investigation found that the United States was responsible.
Mr. Hegseth’s podium swipe reflected the Trump administration’s broader cavalier and unapologetic approach to the war.
Footage of U.S. attacks on Iran has been packaged with scenes from movies or video games and posted on social media.
When an American Mk 48 torpedo sank an Iranian warship to the bottom of the Indian Ocean, killing 87 sailors, footage of the attack was spliced together with scenes from Grand Theft Auto.
A Pentagon source said the memes posted by the social media team were “abhorrent.” “It dehumanizes the true cost of war,” they said.
If the public was unhappy with the war, they continued, Mr. Hegseth could absorb criticism by “getting too far into what President Trump really thinks.”
This is not the first time the defense secretary has found himself in hot water over an unpopular war in the Middle East. Donald Rumsfeld was ousted by George W. Bush after a crushing defeat in the 2006 midterm elections.
During his second term, Trump tried to avoid ensnaring the media by firing members of his cabinet. But last week his patience broke and he fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
When two protesters were shot dead by immigration officers in Minneapolis in January, Ms. Noem claimed they were “domestic terrorists” trying to attack federal officers.
Trump publicly contradicted her, taking a softer stance and sending border czar Tom Homan to control the situation.
The last straw proved to be a heated Senate hearing last week in which Ms Noem insisted the president had signed off on a $220m (£169m) ad in which she was on horseback. Trump was reportedly outraged by the self-promotion and the suggestion that he approved the plan.
For the defense secretary, there are some warning signs. Mr. Hegseth, like Ms. Noem, has taken positions that make him vulnerable to undermining by the president. His critics see him as a self-promoter, an image-conscious former Fox News host.
Kristi Noem was fired as homeland security secretary on March 5 – Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
He effectively dismantled the Pentagon press corps last year and has unofficially reopened it to the press since the war began. However, the photographer was reportedly banned from the press room after posting an “unflattering” photo of the defense minister.
Last year, Mr Hegseth reportedly tried to install a $40,000 dressing room next to the TV briefing room. He denied the reports.
Some see the influence of his wife and close aide Jen Hegseth, who was his producer at Fox and is apparently still struggling to stage-manage her husband.
If Trump can declare “mission accomplished” on Iran without feeling humiliated or embroiled in a “forever war,” his defense secretary will be able to bask in reflected glory. If not, he may find himself on the front lines first.
Mr. Hegseth’s political survival is now tied to the war and the president. Both events were beyond his control.
Try full access to The Telegraph for free now. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus helpful tools and expert guidance on your money, health and holidays.