Pentagon rejects 'inaccurate' claims of Pete Hegseth chewing gum before transfer of fallen troops

WASHINGTON, DC: Pentagon officials clarified this week that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was not chewing gum before a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base for American service members killed in the ongoing Iran conflict.

The claim about Hegseth chewing gum started circulating on social media after videos and photos of him allegedly munching ahead of the event were posted online. 

The ceremony, at Dover AFB in Delaware, was organized to honor six US service members who lost their lives in the KC-135 refueling plane crash above the Iranian airspace. 

Political leaders attend dignified transfer ceremony amid ongoing Iran conflict

According to the Defense Department, Hegseth was present to pay respects to the fallen service members as their remains were returned to US soil.

“This reporting is inaccurate,” the Defense Department said in response to a reporter from The Daily Beast asking about the chewing gum rumor.

Hegseth was in attendance, alongside president Trump, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen Den Caine, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, among others, to honor the arrival of the six fallen service members.

The dignified transfer ceremony is a formal military tradition in which the remains of fallen service members are received with honors.

Officials said six crew members were aboard the KC-135 refueling plane that went down, including, Maj. John A. Klinner; Capt. Ariana G. Savino; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt; Capt. Seth R. Koval; Capt. Curtis J. Angst; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons.

Government officials continue to garner attention at dignified transfer ceremonies

The dignified transfer ceremony was reportedly closed to the media at the request of family members of the deceased, though the White House later published photos of the event on X.

Hegseth's alleged chewing gum incident wasn't the first controversy involving officials to surface during a formal ceremony.

President Trump sparked controversy at a previous dignified transfer ceremony of soldiers killed in drone strikes in Kuwait for allegedly wearing a white baseball cap with 'USA' written on top. 

However, it was later revealed that Fox News aired an old footage of Trump from a different ceremony during broadcast. The network later admitted that the mishap happened “inadvertently.”

So far, the Iran conflict has claimed the lives of 13 US service members and left about 200 more injured.

The USS Gerald R Ford, the biggest aircraft carrier on the planet, is now heading to Crete for repairs. It’s been plagued by mechanical problems lately, with a fire on board being just the latest.

Back in Washington, the administration is feeling the heat. Critics of the war are getting louder, and some are speaking out from within the government itself.