Pete Hegseth Dismisses And Deflects: “You Hate The President More Than You Love The Country, Or Our Troops”

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, November 10th, and an effort is underway to impeach the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hexeth. But he's not waiting for them to impeach him to defend himself. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. I know the president already has a namesake, right? He has a son named Donald Trump Jr. Pete Hexeth seems like Donald Trump Jr.

00:00:27
Speaker 2: To me.

00:00:29
Speaker 1: Everything he says... The things he repeats, the way he defends, the way he attacks, the way he talks, sounds like everything he studied the president's playbook and he is delivering.

00:00:42
Speaker 2: Absolutely.

00:00:44
Speaker 1: For one person, by the way.

00:00:45
Speaker 2: He is a loyal soldier to President Donald Trump. And look, he wants not only the military to get in line behind him, the American people, but also reporters. And he's been very demonstrative about this. Before this press briefing even began, I thought this was interesting. CNN reported that a special announcement was made. by security so they're all in there waiting for the department or the secretary of war to walk in and they were warned that if you do not remain professional in this room you will be removed and the reporters were like what would be considered unprofessional no answer can you give us an example of when there was a reporter who acted unprofessionally no answer but don't you think that's interesting he set the tone from the beginning beginning don't ask me anything i don't like Don't misbehave or you'll be thrown out.

00:01:38
Speaker 1: I don't know this guy at all, Pete Hexuff, and I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. But as much as he wants to convey strength, male strength, power, you look so weak doing that. You look like a weakling, a little, little man. who is scared that some little girl in the Pentagon briefing room might ask you a question. So I need to threaten you beforehand because I might not be able to handle it. Robes, that is so small and weak. And if he really knew how, is that strength to him or control? Is control strength to them? That's unfortunate to hear. It's scary to hear that a man who has that much strength.

00:02:32
Speaker 2: And that much power, let's be honest.

00:02:34
Speaker 1: Will doesn't have the restraint, babe. This is what scares you sometimes. You hear it's about rogue cops sometimes. He got a gun on his hip and the law on his side, but he doesn't have the training, the background, the history to be able to control himself. You don't want a guy that weak in control of the most powerful military in the world. What kind of advice is he giving people based on what? Ooh, Mr. President, they insulted you. Let me bomb them. I know that sounds extreme, babe, but what we're talking about, Robes, that is the bigger story of the day to me than anything he said on that podium, that he threatened the room before he came in, baby.

00:03:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, he has, what that also tells me, I'm in agreement with everything you just said, but he has zero respect for the role of a free press in a democracy.

00:03:33
Speaker 1: We knew that.

00:03:35
Speaker 2: Correct, but yes, but that to me speaks volumes about what he thinks of or how he regards democracy and how it operates and how it's successful. It's only successful with a balance and a check of power. And that can only occur when you have a free press, not a press that is threatened, not a press that is told you have to clear all stories with me before you report anything out of the Pentagon or you don't have access to this room or this information that, by the way, taxpayers fund. That, to me, is fundamentally scary. So, yeah, to hear him begin this press conference where he's going in defense of himself to then threaten reporters ahead of time just speaks volumes.

00:04:24
Speaker 1: Professional behavior. What is that? They all know how to behave. Rose, and even if a reporter yells a question out out of turn, this is a part of the practice. You can't just say you're not being professional. Rose, you got the room scared to raise the hand and ask a question. And if that's the case, ask yourself, where do people walk around in this world, journalists, scared? It's not supposed to be here.

00:04:50
Speaker 2: Iran.

00:04:51
Speaker 1: They get snatched. They get jailed.

00:04:53
Speaker 2: North Korea.

00:04:53
Speaker 1: They get tried. They get convicted. They get killed. I'm scared to ask the defense secretary a question.

00:05:01
Speaker 2: China.

00:05:01
Speaker 1: Or I might get hauled out of here.

00:05:04
Speaker 2: It's absurd. And then on top of that, if you listen to what Pete Hegseth said, he actually, so he's in defense of himself, and we'll get into that, but he also deflected and said the impeachment effort wasn't about him. This is how he twisted it, and you've got to love him for this. He said that the impeachment resolutions actually tell our servicemen and women, our braved members of the military, that their service is a crime.

00:05:33
Speaker 1: Obviously not. Obviously not. That's too bad. I don't know if that messaging was supposed to be for members of the military who maybe is trying to get to turn against. If you want to turn against your policymakers, make sure it's them. They don't support you. I don't know if you have the exact quote there, but the way he said it, you and I both stopped. We couldn't believe he said that.

00:06:05
Speaker 2: Yeah. And yes, he just said that their service was a crime. And then he turned and told the reporters in the room who had just been threatened moments earlier by members of his security team, you hate the president more than you love the country or our troops. He said that. He said that to members of the media.

00:06:26
Speaker 1: Are there people out there, Trump supporters, who hear that statement and go, hell yeah?

00:06:33
Speaker 2: If you believe that.

00:06:34
Speaker 1: That's tough, baby.

00:06:35
Speaker 2: That is a major issue. You might not like a certain reporter or a certain way people might report the news. That's fair. I get that. But to turn to a room of journalists and tell all of them you hate the president more than you love our country or our troops. And he's up there trying to deflect, defend, dismiss, almost laugh off journalists. these very serious charges being leveled against him. He says, this is not patriotism, this is sabotage. So now he's the victim. It really was fascinating seeing what he was saying and how he was saying it.

00:07:13
Speaker 1: Were we, I guess not surprised. It was the same tone as the video we put out when all this stuff started bubbling up. It's just, it's, I don't know. It's typical. It's what's to be expected.

00:07:29
Speaker 2: It is.

00:07:32
Speaker 1: It used to be shocking. I don't know what to make of this stuff now. But I was like, yeah, that's typical. And that complacency, a lot of people argue is why we are where we are. We should stop looking at this stuff as if it's normal. I don't know. I stopped getting outraged because it all is just normal. He didn't do anything today that surprised you, did it? He wore the same damn pocket square.

00:07:54
Speaker 2: The American flag pocket square. Yes, he is. If nothing else, he is predictable. But I look and I think we're used to as a country the way, unfortunately, our political system works when you're in primaries, when you're in elections. Yes, you divide the voters, you rally your base. That's how you get elected. But it's this has been significant in this administration to watch not only the president, but members of his cabinet thrive on division. And it's an us versus them mentality throughout. It's not just, yes, it's Republicans versus Democrats, but here you have a Republican, Thomas Massey from Kentucky. Yes, he's obviously not been in step with the president, so to speak, to put it mildly. But still, there is always an effort to divide and to have an us versus them mentality, whether it's Americans versus the rest of the world, whether it's MAGA versus everyone else. But this is just unfortunate.

00:08:50
Speaker 1: Do we need articles? I mean- he's the wrong messenger probably, not Hexeth, Massey. Yes. Because it does look like a personal vendetta. It does appear to be that way. He introduced him the first time, was it before or after he lost his primary?

00:09:07
Speaker 2: That I can't say. He lost his primary back in the spring. And look, he didn't lose, Massey didn't lose his seat, by the way, in this big blue wave. He lost the seat because President Trump absolutely campaigned for his opponent in the primary. And that is why Massey lost his seat, because he lost the primary. He lost among Republicans.

00:09:30
Speaker 1: So he has been a thorn in the side of the president for a while, and that's why the president campaigned against him during the primary in the first place. But him, Robes, being the person bringing them, does, yeah, you could easily say it has the appearance of a vendetta, of revenge, of his lamed-up On his way out, he wants to stick it to him one more time. Or robes, you could. A lot of people, and certainly every Democrat, seems to be on board with supporting this, even Speaker, Speaker. he's not a Speaker yet, Hakeem Jeffries, said, hell yeah.

00:10:04
Speaker 2: Hard yes.

00:10:05
Speaker 1: I'm for it. But, Robes, we can't have a necessarily legitimate debate because everything is wrapped up in politics. And remember, this is a civilian leadership issue we're talking about. This is not A politician. Robes, why have a press conference? He shouldn't be out here giving a political speech about the president's political enemies in the first place. He completely went politician today.

00:10:33
Speaker 2: Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt. And look, and it's funny about the politician. He is calling this, yes, a political spectacle. And to give him... This is exactly what Hegseth had to say about Thomas Massie. He said, it's a political spectacle, it's a personal manifesto, driven by ego and resentment. I thought that was kind of funny, because some might use that exact same sentence to talk about the president. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. Time for one man's final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country, and most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it. Look, Massey introduced the eight articles of impeachment on Monday. And I believe by House rules, they have two days, right? They have to vote on it by Wednesday. So we're going to get some sort of resolution. But Mike Johnson could pass. potentially shelve this, so to speak, because he could send it to committee and could just buy his time, but obviously this will be taken up again, I would imagine, when the Democrats are in control.

00:11:38
Speaker 1: But do they have the stomach for it? Massey will be gone at this point. They say, hey, it was a Republican effort and we jumped on board. This wasn't us who decided to do this. I don't think Americans, they did not vote Democrats in because they want to see investigation after investigation. They do want The brakes put on this presidency, sure. But, Robes, I'm not in the mood. Hearings and investigations and launching new probes, it's all exhausting.

00:12:04
Speaker 2: And look, if you look at the eight articles of impeachment, three of them, maybe four, are focused on the war with Iran. And the argument by Hegseth and members of the administration is, why is it considered impeachment? or some violation of the Constitution if you're following orders from the president? So if you're carrying out military strikes ordered by the commander-in-chief, how is that possibly you doing something illegal? And I understand that.

00:12:31
Speaker 1: I heard some constitutional scholars discussing that and said... Some of these are non-starters.

00:12:37
Speaker 2: Correct. Many of them are. But among the other articles of impeachment included the capture of the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, again, following orders. They talk about those unlawful, they claim, military strikes against the drug boats. targeting the cartel. Double taps, right? Yes, military operations in Yemen. Also abusing power. This one I think is the one that actually is of note. Abusing power by retaliating against Senator Mark Kelly for protected speech. That I actually do think could potentially have legs. But the others, it makes sense why Hegseth is saying this is just political theater. But isn't that what we see in Congress day in and day out?

00:13:20
Speaker 1: It's D.C., Yes.

00:13:21
Speaker 2: And unfortunately, we certainly saw it in the Pentagon press briefing room today. When we come back, though, we're going to tell you what President Trump is now officially saying on the record about Pete Hegseth and his job security, along with what he had to say about his frenemy, or I guess just his enemy, Thomas Massey. Welcome back, everyone, to Amy and TJ. It was a fiery day in the Pentagon briefing room, but there weren't fireworks because, yes, Pete Hex's security team made sure of that ahead of time, warning reporters not to act unprofessionally. Have you ever seen a reporter act unprofessionally?

00:14:10
Speaker 1: Nothing comes to mind, probably, but even when they're getting a little aggressive or doing some overtalk or kind of a thing, it's part of and it's understood, it's rare that I Yeah, I'm trying to think. Especially in the White House.

00:14:23
Speaker 2: I've seen exceptional restraint shown, actually, more so than the other.

00:14:27
Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely. I'm waiting. If it gets closer to his last days, he insults a woman in there, and she insults him back.

00:14:35
Speaker 2: You know what I was thinking? What?

00:14:37
Speaker 1: Don't say the insult, though. Well, no. No, I wouldn't. No, no, no.

00:14:40
Speaker 2: I was just imagining. I remember when I was a reporter in D.C., I was pregnant, at least for part of it. And I thought, wow, have him say something rude to a pregnant woman. When you are pregnant, you will say anything. I was just imagining that scenario bubbling up. That would actually be something I would watch. But no, President Trump had a lot to say. You remember, and we've discussed this in previous episodes, there's been a lot of speculation that Pete Hegseth was going to be removed or replaced by President Trump. He is not a popular guy, period.

00:15:13
Speaker 1: Wait, which one?

00:15:16
Speaker 2: I was talking about Pete Hegseth. But yes, he full-on backed Hegseth, says he intends to keep him on the job, and then actually gave him credit for rebuilding and rebranding the military. He said soldiers love Pete Hegseth. He says we now have waiting lists to get into the military when they couldn't get anyone to enlist beforehand. So he not only supported Hexeth, he doubled down and praised him as basically rebranding and renewing the military.

00:15:48
Speaker 1: Was it the USS Abraham Lincoln? Yes. That's the one?

00:15:55
Speaker 2: Yes. Okay.

00:15:56
Speaker 1: And maybe there are plenty who appreciate this warrior ethos. They appreciate what he is doing. But robes, I don't find that many military members and military families that we have dealt with for decades in our careers excited about the concept of being sent away from their families for months and being in danger. I hear you about the warrior ethos and all this, but robes, a lot has happened to them, and they have put a lot of strain on their families, and they've made contributions we can't understand. To just simply say everybody's all good and loves what we're doing. They're following orders. They're doing what they're supposed to.

00:16:38
Speaker 2: Correct. And I think it's unfair for Hegseth or the Trump administration to act as though just because people are upset with Hegseth or upset with Trump administration policies that that is in any way. a knock against the men and women who serve our country.

00:16:52
Speaker 1: Obviously, we know that. We know that, but they still come out and say it.

00:16:55
Speaker 2: It's frustrating. And I imagine if you are a service member, you would also feel offended that they are speaking on your behalf.

00:17:03
Speaker 1: In that way. In that way. Yeah.

00:17:07
Speaker 2: You're becoming a political pawn, basically, on their chessboard.

00:17:11
Speaker 1: They're after me, but they're really after you. You should be mad at them. Like, that's a division, like we always say.

00:17:17
Speaker 2: Manipulation.

00:17:18
Speaker 1: Look, I think every member of Congress... supports the men and women in the military.

00:17:23
Speaker 2: Of course they do.

00:17:23
Speaker 1: Genuinely do. They have different ways about how to do that support and where those members of the military should be sent.

00:17:29
Speaker 2: Sure.

00:17:30
Speaker 1: But we have to start. I have to give everybody credit in Congress that they actually give a damn about the military.

00:17:37
Speaker 2: Yes. And on that same note, I think it's fair to say that journalists love their country. That journalists put their lives on the line for this country. That journalists are there to get to the truth and to make sure that all sides are being heard. And so to act as though just because you don't like some reporting or you don't like some questions, that that then means you are unpatriotic, that you hate the country, that you hate the president, that you hate members of the military. It's so deeply offensive. To have them take something that's happening, criticism that's leveled towards them, and then somehow apply it to other people who are just trying to get to the truth and understand.

00:18:32
Speaker 1: Did he do it all three runs? When did he start using fake news? Was it his first run or was it his second run?

00:18:39
Speaker 2: I think so. I feel like it's been in place since 2016.

00:18:41
Speaker 1: So we are talking about a decade of hearing this repeatedly. Ropes, he has turned. He's turned the media into an enemy of the state. For him, he has turned us into that for a good segment of his supporters and followers. And that is scary and dangerous. I understand people don't like a lot of what the press does. I can tell you overwhelmingly they're decent people.

00:19:05
Speaker 2: Yes, they are.

00:19:05
Speaker 1: And there is not a conspiracy of any kind or a plan going on to go against this president or any president. It's just not.

00:19:14
Speaker 2: And that just needs to be said and repeated from two people who actually have very different backgrounds in terms of where our families come from, our families' choices. So this isn't just, we aren't two people who grew up in New York in network news. We come from the heartland of America with varying and distinctive views with family members. So We can say this, like, honestly, there is no conspiracy. There's no collective movement to upend our political system or to make everybody hate.

00:19:48
Speaker 1: Republicans.

00:19:49
Speaker 2: Absolutely not. But look, then you hear the president sum it up like this. Well, Hegseth won two wars, so that's why they want to impeach him because, yeah, we're upset.

00:20:00
Speaker 1: What was that second war? The 48-minute one? Yes. In Venezuela.

00:20:07
Speaker 2: They call it a war. He won the war. Why do they keep saying that? Yeah, you're right. That's a bizarre thing. But yes, Trump was doubling down on that. And then he decided to finish it off with a classic calling Massey a stone-cold loser. I guess he could have said worse. He certainly said worse. But that's how he ended it. So Pete Hegseth is his guy. He's going to stay on the job. He's transformed the military, and Thomas Massey is a stone-cold loser.

00:20:39
Speaker 1: Mic drop. Nothing more to be said. I forgot, but he did. He said the president's response. He did respond or at least acknowledge the press conference. On Truth Social, this is what he wrote. Pete Hexeth gets an A + + + + for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated former president. Congressman Thomas Massey, a total loser. First, he's still a current congressman. And just for notes, the things that were in all caps were plus, plus, plus and total loser.

00:21:17
Speaker 2: That makes sense. All right. So look, we'll keep our eye on what happens next. In the halls of Congress, at least through Wednesday, to see if that vote actually does make the floor. They just need a simple majority. What would happen if it goes to a vote, if they get that simple majority? And we don't know where the votes are right now. It seems unlikely. Then it would go to the Senate, which would have a trial, and they would then need two-thirds majority to actually impeach Hegseth and remove him from office. That's a lot. And you're shaking your head. Yes, highly unlikely.

00:21:49
Speaker 1: Even in the new Congress, the most they would have is 56 seats, and they need 66, right? Yes.

00:21:55
Speaker 2: Not going to happen. Looks like Pete Hegseth lives at least another day and many to come as the Secretary of War. And with that, everyone, we always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes. We'll talk soon.