Hegseth Accuses Troops of Lying as He’s Faced With Facts on Iran War

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth couldn’t explain why his version of events doesn’t line up with that of troops in the Middle East.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is continuing to lie about an Iranian drone strike that killed six U.S. service members in early March, and now he’s lashing out at the survivors of the blast too.

After the missile struck the troop base, the defense secretary minimized the incident, calling the missile a “squirter” that “happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified.”

But a month later, multiple anonymous survivors of the blast talked to CBS, and claimed Hegseth was fibbing. As Representative Pat Ryan of the House Armed Services Committee put it on Wednesday:

One of our surviving soldiers told CBS “painting a picture that one squeaked through is a falsehood.” Another said the unit was “unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.” Another survivor said the building’s protection “was about as weak as one gets.” Secretary Hegseth, that is obviously a direct contradiction of what you said from the Pentagon podium the next day. Are you saying these soldiers, our soldiers, who survived this horrific attack, are lying?

One of our surviving soldiers told CBS “painting a picture that one squeaked through is a falsehood.” Another said the unit was “unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.” Another survivor said the building’s protection “was about as weak as one gets.” Secretary Hegseth, that is obviously a direct contradiction of what you said from the Pentagon podium the next day. Are you saying these soldiers, our soldiers, who survived this horrific attack, are lying?

Hegseth dodged the question. “Before the commencement of the conflict, we put in maximum defensive posture—”

“That’s a direct contradiction to what they said,” Ryan replied.

“Can I speak, or are you just going to monologue falsehoods all over the place?” Hegseth said.

“It’s not a falsehood.”

“We moved 7,500 troops off of the—”

“Reclaiming my time. Stop! … I’m reclaiming my time on behalf of these survivors. You just said what they said is a falsehood.”

RYAN: Are you saying these soldiers, our soldiers, who survived this horrific attack are lying?HEGSETH: Before the commencement of the conflic--RYAN: Reclaiming my time. Stop! You just said what they said it a falsehood. HEGSETH: There's a much larger picture at play here pic.twitter.com/MHxBM4HeWr— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 29, 2026

RYAN: Are you saying these soldiers, our soldiers, who survived this horrific attack are lying?HEGSETH: Before the commencement of the conflic--RYAN: Reclaiming my time. Stop! You just said what they said it a falsehood. HEGSETH: There's a much larger picture at play here pic.twitter.com/MHxBM4HeWr

“There’s a much larger picture at play here,” Hegseth tried to argue, speaking about the efforts of the U.S. to move troops to safety in the region. “We knew there could be a tragic moment where one could get through. Of course, that’s the consequence of conflict.”

Ryan pointed out he still hadn’t answered the question.

“Don’t play games with raising your voice and pointing your finger,” Hegseth said.

“I’m not playing games,” Ryan replied. “I want to finish with one more quote from a survivor.… ‘Telling the truth is important. And we’re not going to learn from these mistakes if we pretend these mistakes didn’t happen. Secretary Hegseth, those soldiers hold the truth. Those soldiers are braver than you are. They are asking for accountability, and they deserve accountability. I’m asking for the same.”

Hegseth’s lies about attacks on U.S. troops should be a massive story, similar to how the Pentagon is reportedly covering up recent casualties in the Middle East. But with all the madness in the world right now, it’s easy to get distracted by whatever scandal pops up next. Kudos to Ryan—a veteran himself—for bringing the incident back to light.

Trump Tries to Goad Artemis II Astronauts Into Bashing NATO With Him

The astronauts appeared stunned as Donald Trump complained about NATO.

The crew of NASA’s Artemis II visited the White House Wednesday to celebrate their successful mission around the moon, but they ended up roped into one of the president’s diatribes against NATO.

The astronauts were visibly uncomfortable flanking Donald Trump behind the Resolute Desk as he tossed questions their way regarding the country’s participation in the strategic alliance.

“What do you think of that, Jared? Sending help after we win the war?” Trump said, turning to address NASA administrator Jared Isaacman (Isaacman is the third administrator of the agency since January 2025).

Trump then looked behind him, waving his open hand at the astronauts.

“I don’t want to get you guys involved, but I can imagine what you’re thinking,” Trump chortled.

But no one at the desk was laughing with him. Instead, the astronauts looked pained:  grimacing, pursing their lips, and turning away from the president as he continued to take questions from reporters.

the Artemis II crew looks mortified as Trump turns to them while he's attacking NATO pic.twitter.com/Qyiivdw2MR— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 29, 2026

the Artemis II crew looks mortified as Trump turns to them while he's attacking NATO pic.twitter.com/Qyiivdw2MR

Trump has long criticized America’s membership in the international military alliance. He regularly baselessly insists that other members have failed to pay their dues and argues that the U.S. has been shortchanged by other NATO countries, even though that’s not how the alliance operates.

The Cold War–era organization has “no ledger that maintains accounts of what countries pay and owe,” according to former Obama staffer Aaron O’Connell, who explained to NPR in 2018 that “NATO is not like a club with annual membership fees.”

Nonetheless, Trump has continued to verbally attack America’s closest allies, accusing NATO members of being “cowards” and “terrible” for refusing to assist in his blockade of Iran’s Strait of Hormuz. 

On Tuesday, King Charles of Britain spoke before a joint session of the U.S. Congress, compelling the American people—and their representatives—to support the NATO alliance. In doing so, the king reminded the country that there has only ever been one time in history when NATO’s Article 5 has been invoked: the global mobilization to support America in its military offensive against Afghanistan after 9/11.

Despite the king’s heavy messaging, Trump told reporters Wednesday that he “loved the speech,” though he specified that his opinion on NATO—and America’s potential withdrawal—was unchanged by the royal’s remarks.

It is unclear who in the Western world benefits from the dissolution of NATO. John Bolton, Trump’s first-term national security adviser and a policy hawk who also served under Ronald Reagan’s administration, has said that the consequences of exiting the alliance........

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