Trump avoids punishing Hegseth and Adm Bradley over boat killings, says ‘This is war’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump avoided saying whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or others should be punished if Congressional investigations find they ordered the killing of survivors from a maritime d**g interdiction strike. 

Hegseth is facing intensifying scrutiny over accusations that some critics have described as possible war crimes. Formal Congressional investigations are expected to follow.

Trump avoids direct answer on punishing Pete Hegseth and Admiral Bradley

During a Q&A session in the Oval Office, Trump was asked directly whether those in the chain of command — including Secretary Hegseth and Admiral Bradley — should face punishment if they ordered the killing of survivors who were clinging to a suspected d**g-smuggling boat.

A reporter asked, “If survivors were actually killed while clinging on to that boat, should Secretary Hegseth, Admiral Bradley, or others be punished?” Instead of addressing the question, Trump shifted to the broader fight against d**g trafficking and its lethal consequences.

Donald Trump shifts focus to nationwide d**g crisis during questioning

Trump defended the actions taken against smuggling vessels by emphasizing the scale of the d**g crisis in the country. He said, “I think you’re going to find that this is war, that these people were killing our people by the millions — actually, if you look over a few years. I think last year we lost close to 300,000 people who were killed.” 

He went on to describe the damage inflicted on families, adding, “That’s not mentioning all the families. Have you seen what happens with the families of not only the people killed, but the people that are trying to get their son or their daughter off of this poison that they’ve been fed?”

Donald Trump defends boat strikes and signals broader ground operations coming

Trump then shifted to backing the broader mission to dismantle d**g-smuggling operations, hinting that future operations would move from sea to land. “I think you’re going to find that there’s a very receptive ear to doing exactly what they’re doing — taking out those boats. And very soon we’re going to start doing it on land too, because we know every route, we know every house, we know where they manufacture this crap, we know where they put it all together, and I think you’re going to see it very soon on land also.”.

Another reporter followed up, asking, “So to be clear, do you support the decision to kill survivors after the decision to kill survivors—” Trump interrupted, saying, “I know I support the decision to knock out the boats and whoever is piloting those boats. Most of them are gone. But whoever are piloting those boats, they’re guilty of trying to kill people in our country,” before moving on to another question.