President Donald Trump said late Sunday that he retains full confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth despite a Washington Post report alleging that Hegseth ordered U.S. special operations forces to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug-trafficking vessel struck in September. Trump emphasized he believes Hegseth’s denial and questioned the credibility of the report, even as he said the matter would be reviewed.
“I don’t know anything about it. He said he did not say that, and I believe him, 100 percent,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. The Post reported Friday that after an initial strike left two survivors clinging to wreckage, a special operations commander allegedly ordered a second strike to carry out what he understood to be Hegseth’s directive.
Trump said he would not have approved any second strike and questioned whether such an event even occurred. “No. 1, I don’t know that that happened,” he said when asked whether such a strike would have been illegal. Trump stressed that Hegseth had denied the allegation: “Pete said he did not want them — he didn’t even know what people were talking about. So, we’ll look into it.”
The president added that while the first strike was “very lethal,” it had been justified as part of the administration’s aggressive campaign against maritime drug traffickers. “I wouldn’t have wanted that, not a second strike,” he said. “The first strike was very lethal, it was fine.”
Pressed on whether it would be acceptable if Hegseth had given such an order, Trump again pointed to Hegseth’s denial. “He said he didn’t do it, so I don’t have to make that decision,” he said.
Hegseth responded to the Washington Post report on Friday by branding it “fake news,” though he did not directly address whether he used the phrase “kill everybody.” He defended the series of U.S. strikes conducted since early September, arguing that each operation has been lawful and necessary.
“As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,’” Hegseth said. “The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
The administration has launched repeated air and naval strikes in both the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific targeting vessels suspected of narcotics trafficking, operations that have killed more than 80 people. Democrats—and even one senior Republican lawmaker—have called for further investigation into whether the alleged second strike could constitute a war crime.
Trump questioned the accuracy of the reporting but reiterated that he intends to examine the situation. Asked directly if he was denying the existence of a second strike, Trump replied, “I don’t know. I’m going to find out about it. But Pete said he did not order the death of those two men.”
Trump closed by reaffirming his trust in Hegseth, saying, “I have great confidence in him.”
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