Ben Shapiro says 'Americans don’t care much' about controversy over Pete Hegseth’s Caribbean strike

WASHINGTON, DC: Ben Shapiro says Americans aren’t really fazed by all the drama over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s orders for strikes on a Caribbean boat back in September.

“I frankly don’t think that Americans care very much about what is being reported with regard to Secretary Hegseth," the conservative commentator said on NewsNation. 

Shapiro also took a swipe at Democrats, arguing they’re only going after Hegseth to score political points before next year’s midterms. The whole discussion kicked off after the strike linked to alleged narco-te**orism made headlines.

Ben Shapiro talks about conflicting reports on Pete Hegseth's orders

“I also think that the stories are conflicting. You had the original Washington Post report, which suggested the possibility of a war crime, if we read all the statutes, and then you have the New York Times report, which basically denies the Washington Post report, right?” Shapiro told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo.

Shapiro broke down the controversy, “The supposed suggestion is that Hegseth ordered a double tap, that he ordered a hit on a boat. There were survivors in the water. They were what’s called hors de combat. They were out of combat, and then he ordered a second strike.”

He added, “The New York Times said there’s no evidence that he ordered a second strike. He says he wasn’t even in the room after the first strike hit, and so I’m not even sure what we’re arguing about at this point. It does feel like a distraction from other things.”

Still, some lawmakers aren’t buying it. They’ve raised concerns about Hegseth’s judgment and slammed reports claiming the defense secretary told the troops to “kill everybody” on the boat carrying alleged “narco-te**orists.”

Pete Hegseth faces scrutiny over Caribbean strike

The controversy over Hegseth keeps growing after a Washington Post report claimed he told the military to “kill everybody” in a Caribbean boat strike. Democrats flagged it as a potential war crime, and Donald Trump said he wouldn’t have ordered a second strike.

According to WaPo, on September 2, Hegseth allegedly gave the order to “kill everybody” after the first strike didn’t immediately take out all 11 people on the vessel, who the administration called “narco-t**rorists.” That led the Special Operations commander in charge to launch another strike in line with Hegseth’s directive.

Lawmakers are questioning Hegseth’s judgment and condemning the reports that he told the strike crew to “kill everybody."