President Donald Trump just made it clear that he stands behind his Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. 

This comes, according to Fox News, amid the so-called "second strike" controversy that Hegseth has landed at the center of.

The claim is that Hegseth ordered U.S. military to finish off two men who were wounded during one of the Pentagon's recent strikes on a drug smuggling vessel. Hegseth has called the story "fake news."

As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.

As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically…

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 28, 2025

Trump backs Hegseth

The president was asked about the alleged controversy on Sunday aboard Air Force One.

Fox reports:

President Donald Trump on Sunday defended Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over allegations he ordered a second strike on a Venezuelan drug boat, saying he believes Hegseth’s denial and would not have supported a follow-up attack if it happened . . . Trump repeatedly said Hegseth denied giving such an order. He added that he was aware of the allegation but stressed that Hegseth told him the claim was untrue and that he accepted that explanation without hesitation.

The outlet quotes Trump as saying, "He said he did not say that, and I believe him 100%."

Reporters followed up by asking Trump, hypothetically, whether he would have supported a second strike on the wounded drug smugglers.

"No, I wouldn’t have wanted that. Not a second strike," Trump said.

"Fake news"

Trump, the White House, and Hegseth have all released statements denying the claim that he ordered a second strike on the wounded drug smugglers.

The White House's Steven Cheung put it this way:

The Washington Compost provided NO FACTS and NO SUBSTANTIATION. They literally just printed what some unnamed random person said and reported it as fact. This is the same playbook they used during the first term. The difference is that nobody trusts outlets like WaPo anymore.

According to Senior Advisor Sean Parnell, the Trump administration even told the Washington Post that their story had no basis.

He revealed:

We told the Washington Post that this entire narrative was false yesterday. These people just fabricate anonymously sourced stories out of whole cloth. Fake News is the enemy of the people.

Hegseth further released a message, stating, "We have only just begun to kill narco-terrorists."