All posts tagged "white house"

Hegseth gets testy with 'nitpicking' reporters: 'What you in the press don't understand'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lost his cool during a White House cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Hegseth was taking questions from the press when he fired off a defensive response over the Sept. 2 lethal strikes on a boat in the Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela, where survivors were reportedly targeted following the first attack.

A reporter asked if Hegseth saw any survivors before the second strike.

"I did not personally see survivors, but I stand... because the thing was on fire. It was exploded. Fire and smoke. You can't see anything, you've got digital... This is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don't understand," Hegseth said, appearing agitated by the question.

"You sit in your air-conditioned offices, or up on Capitol Hill, and you nitpick, and you plant fake stories in The Washington Post about 'kill everybody,' phrases on anonymous sources, not based in anything, not based in any truth at all. And then you want to throw out really irresponsible terms about American heroes, about the judgment that they made. I wrote a whole book on this topic because of what politicians and the press does to war fighters," Hegseth said.

He cited the recent report from The Post about the lethal strikes and sources who indicated what happened behind the scenes.

Hegseth also praised Trump, saying the president has "empowered commanders to do what is necessary, which is dark and difficult things in the dead of night on behalf of the American people. We support them, and we will stop the poisoning of the American people."

The Trump administration has claimed the boat strikes were necessary.

"So I said 'I'm going to be the one to make the call' after getting all the information and making sure it's the right strike," Hegseth said. "That was Sept. 2.... I watched that first strike live. As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we've got a lot of things to do, so I didn't stick around for the hour and two hours, whatever, where all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs. So I moved on to my meeting."

Hegseth argued that Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley had the authority to issue the order.

"He sunk the boat and eliminated the threat. And it was the right call. We have his back, and the American people are safer because narco terrorists know you can't bring drugs through the water and eventually on land if necessary. We will eliminate that threat, and we're proud to do it," he said.

'Stupid or slow?' White House launches ugly war on pop star Sabrina Carpenter

The White House had a sharp response Tuesday after pop star Sabrina Carpenter aimed a scathing at the Trump administration for using her song in an ICE arrest video.

"Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: We won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?” White House Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement, making a reference to the artist's "Short n' Sweet" album and popular hit "Manchild," Politico reported.

The White House shared a video of aggressive ICE arrests on X paired to her song and viral lyrics from the song "Juno," with the text: "Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye."

Carpenter slammed the administration in her response on X, saying "this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda."

The Trump administration has used multiple artists' and creators' work without their permission, including Kenny Loggins, The White Stripes and Taylor Swift. In September, DHS shared the meme-style video likening ICE raids and capturing undocumented immigrants to Pokémon and using arrested immigrants as "cards" mocking the suspects in the same style as the popular Japanese animé, which is partly owned by Nintendo.

White House officials told Zeteo that the Trump administration uses popular music in its videos, including "vocally anti-Trump performing artists, in order to trigger a negative response from a famous liberal and provide further amplification of their pervasive culture war."

“We do it on purpose,” one White House official told the outlet.

'Evil and disgusting': Pop megastar attacks Trump after song used in ICE video

Pop megastar Sabrina Carpenter on Tuesday slammed the Trump administration and told them not to use her music.

The White House shared a video of aggressive ICE arrests on X paired to her song and viral lyrics from the song "Juno," with the text: "Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye."

Carpenter wrote a scathing response on X, saying "this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda."

The Trump administration has used multiple artists' songs without their permission, including Kenny Loggins, The White Stripes and Taylor Swift.

this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.
— Sabrina Carpenter (@SabrinaAnnLynn) December 2, 2025

'Very dishonest': White House under fire over shifting story on lethal strikes

The internet had a serious response to the new White House announcement on Monday, arguing that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth relied on orders from a senior military leader to authorize the two strikes on an alleged drug boat after reports that survivors were targeted after the first strike.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley ordered the second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, just off the coast of Venezuela, and that it was "well within his authority to do so."

Social media users responded to the news and questioned the Trump administration over the new information.

"A straightforward progression from claiming 'this entire narrative' is 'fabricated' with 'NO FACTS' to admitting most of the report is accurate, shielding the top official involved, and saying that the strike was good, actually. Very dishonest people," Matthew Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters for America, wrote on X.

"So the thing the White House and the Secretary of Defense both attacked as 'fake news' did in fact happen. They were lying, and nobody should be buying this new version of the story either without asking a bunch more questions," Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff for Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), wrote on X.

"Yesterday, Donald Trump said he would not have wanted a second strike. Today, the White House admitted the second strike did happen, but blamed Admiral Bradley. Either Trump has no control over his military, or Leavitt is trying to insulate Trump and Hegseth," journalist Aaron Parnas wrote on X.

"Either Admiral Bradley went rogue, or was following @SecWar's directiveDoesn't matter who ordered it. It was unlawful. Operating lawfully is what gives an armed force their credibility. It's what used to separate militaries in democracies from dictators. Not so much in America," a user named Michael, who identified as a Royal Canadian Navy veteran, wrote on X.

"Oh so there was a second strike? lol weren’t they saying there wasn’t one?" Commentator Keith Edwards wrote on X.

"So either the Commander in Chief and Secretary of Defense did not know about the second strike that Republicans have even called a war crime, or the White House is just placing all the blame on Admiral Bradley to deflect," podcast host Jessica Tarlov wrote on X.

"If he was 'well within his authority,' then release the unredacted video of the strike, the timeline of events, & the radio recordings of every order. Because based on the reporting we’ve seen, it appears @SecWar may have committed a war crime. The public deserves transparency," Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) wrote on X.

'Bizarre situation': Reporter says Trump plans to replace Patel despite White House claims

The White House has denied its plans to replace FBI Director Kash Patel, despite insiders who maintain that President Donald Trump says Patel's days are numbered.

Journalist Ken Dilanian told MS NOW's Ana Cabrera that he and his colleagues Carol Leonnig and Laura Barrón-López are hearing that "President Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the bad press that Kash Patel has been getting about his use of taxpayer resources, including the FBI jet to fly around his girlfriend and provision of a security detail for his girlfriend, the country singer Alexis Wilkins, and also for some of his premature tweeting on some key investigations."

The "unflattering headlines" about Patel have reportedly prompted Trump to confide in his allies about his concerns over the embarrassing stories.

"But we're in this bizarre situation where the White House and White House spokespeople in the DOJ and the FBI are all denouncing the story and saying that it's absolutely false where behind the scenes we're being told that it's accurate and that despite what Donald Trump is saying, there still are plans eventually to replace Kash Patel with Andrew Bailey, who is serving as right now deputy FBI director," Dilanian said.

Bailey is the former Missouri attorney general. It's unclear when Patel could potentially get booted from his post.

"Now, when that will happen and whether the reporting of these concerns has changed the dynamic at all, that remains to be seen. But the concerns are real. And Kash Patel really has drawn the ire of a lot of people inside the Trump administration for the way he has been conducting himself and running the FBI," Dilanian added.

'Veered into micromanagement': Rift between Trump and White House ballroom architect grows

Donald Trump is scheduling "frequent meetings" which verges on "micromanagement" of the White House ballroom proposal.

The president confirmed earlier this year he had hired architects and received funding from donors to overhaul the East Wing. The area will play host to a ballroom which the Trump administration has claimed will be fit for future generations to host world meetings in.

But the project is reportedly in a rough spot, with The Washington Post reporting Trump has taken a more hands-on approach than first thought, and it's causing a rift with architect James McCrery II.

Jonathan Edwards and Dan Diamond wrote that Trump's vision of the White House ballroom meant scheduling frequent meetings with McCrery and his team. They wrote, "Trump’s intense focus on the project and insistence on realizing his vision over the objections of his own hire, historic preservationists and others concerned by a lack of public input in the project reflect his singular belief in himself as a tastemaker and obsessive attention to details.

"In the first 10 months of his second term, Trump has waged a campaign to remake the White House in his gilded aesthetic and done so unilaterally — using a who’s-going-to-stop-me ethos he honed for decades as a developer."

Administration officials went on record to confirm Trump had "veered into micromanagement" on the project, which is set to be completed before the end of Trump's term in 2029.

The article continues, "Multiple administration officials have acknowledged that Trump has at times veered into micromanagement of the ballroom project, holding frequent meetings about its design and materials. A model of the ballroom has also become a regular fixture in the Oval Office."

While Trump and the administration have argued the ballroom is needed to host special events at the White House, Democrats and historical preservation groups have disagreed with the demolition and the pace of the project.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has since sponsored a Stop Ballroom Bribery Act, with the bill aiming to place guardrails around private donations to fund construction on White House grounds.

The ballroom, which is being created on the East Wing and was announced earlier this year by the White House, will cost roughly $200 million, with the president and "other patriot donors" making the cash available for the project.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal warned the president had put a "for sale" sign on the White House. He said, "President Trump has put a 'for sale' sign on the White House—soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars from special interests to fund his $300 million vanity project. Our measure is a direct response to Trump's ballroom boondoggle."

‘I felt a loss for us as a nation’: Michelle Obama stunned by Trump's East Wing demolition

Former First lady Michelle Obama had a serious reaction to President Donald Trump's decision to tear down the century-old East Wing of the White House for a ballroom, saying it symbolized “a loss for us as a nation.”

In an interview Tuesday with Jamie Kern Lima’s podcast, Obama described how it felt to see the destruction of it as what it represented to the nation, rather than her personal ties to the historic space, according to The Washington Post.

“I think in my body, I felt confusion because I’m like, who are we? What do we value? And who decides that?” Obama said. “That’s the thing that’s going through my head a lot lately. Who are we? What are the rules? Because I’m confused by what are our norms and our mores — not the laws — but how do we live together? That’s the part of it that hurts.”

“I think I felt a loss for us as a nation, but personally, you know … that’s not our house. That’s the people’s house,” she explained.

Obama has started speaking out about her unease over the second Trump presidency in interviews. In January, she declined attending Trump's second inauguration and has voiced her concerns over Trump's aggressive immigration policies and the president's view of how to govern.

This month she said she would not run for president.

“As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” Obama said in a conversation with actor Tracee Ellis Ross while she promoted her new book "The Look" at an event in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running ‘cause you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman,” Obama said. “We got a lot of growing up to do and there’s still … a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman and we saw it.”

'Woe to the public': Trump admin official gets 40-minute grilling in Gulf of America case

A federal judge pressed a Trump administration official Monday in an appeal case involving The Associated Press refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

AP sued the government after it banned its journalists from covering events at the White House, and in a new circuit court panel in Washington, D.C., a Trump official responded to questions from a judge about who can visit the White House, The Washington Post reported.

Jacob M. Roth, the Justice Department's attorney, said the president can use "broad discretion to pick whom he wants to invite into the Oval Office and onto Air Force One."

AP reporters still have access to the White House press briefing room, but other locations and events are restricted.

"During a nearly 40-minute questioning before the panel, Judge Robert L. Wilkins pressed Roth on whether the president is ever bound by First Amendment principles, which largely prohibit viewpoint discrimination and retaliation for political speech, in the Oval Office," The Post reported.

Wilkins, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, asked if "the president could exclude a family from Kansas visiting the White House if he discovered that a family member disagreed with him in social media posts."

Roth argued it would be within the president's right to do that.

“Woe to the public,” Wilkins responded.

Melania Trump flees after just minutes at White House Christmas event

First lady Melania Trump spent less than three minutes at a White House Christmas event on Monday before running off.

Trump was seen taking photos and shaking hands after a horse-drawn carriage brought the White House Christmas tree. She then exited the location in about two minutes and 50 seconds, The Daily Beast reported.

She also shared a sneak peek of this year's look in a video posted on X, showing a potential gold aesthetic this holiday season — a favorite decor hue among the Trump White House.

Melania has been accused of being a Grinch in the past.

During the first Trump administration, leaked CNN audio from secretly recorded conversations revealed how she really felt about the holidays and decorating.

“I’m working… my a-- off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f--- about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” Mrs. Trump said. “But I need to do it, right?”

“OK, and then I do it and I say that I’m working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said, ‘Oh, what about the children that they were separated?’ Give me a f------ break,” she said at the time, referencing the family separation policy of removing people who illegally crossed the border during the first Trump term.

In 2018, Trump's holiday decor featured a hallway of tall red trees in the now-demolished East Wing, which were referred to as "murder trees" and compared to "The Handmaid's Tale."

At the time, the White House said that the trees were “pales, or stripes, found in the presidential seal designed by our Founding Fathers,” and are “a symbol of valor and bravery.”

'This will not be the final word': White House defiant as Comey and James cases tossed

The White House on Monday was defiant after a federal judge dismissed indictments of President Donald Trump's two perceived foes, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

It's unclear what the Trump administration plans to do next. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement Monday afternoon, "The facts of the indictments against Comey and James have not changed and this will not be the final word on this matter."

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that President Donald Trump unlawfully appointed his personal attorney, Lindsey Halligan, as interim U.S. attorney.

McGowan Currie wrote in an opinion that Halligan's appointment violated the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution and that her actions, including signing Comey's indictment, "were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside."

Comey released a statement in an Instagram video on Monday, saying he expects to hear from the Trump administration again.

"I'm grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence, and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking. But I was also inspired by the example of the career people, who refused to be part of this travesty. It cost some of them their jobs, which is painful, but it preserved their integrity, which is beyond price. And I know they will serve again," Comey said.

James also released a statement.

"I am heartened by today's victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country," she said. "I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day."