Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is getting shredded online for a rare press conference in which he implied he was just following President Donald Trump's orders to defend his wartime actions.
Hegseth held the press conference — his first one in six months — after Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who has emerged as a fierce Trump critic, introduced articles of impeachment against the Pentagon chief.
The articles filed Monday accuse Hegseth of unlawfully waging war in Iran and Yemen, capturing former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and striking suspected drug trafficking boats.
"Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen — every one was a lawful operation ordered by the commander-in-chief, then ordered by myself, notified to Congress, and executed by American warriors who did their jobs," Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday morning.
Independent journalist Aaron Rupar summed up Hegseth's comments as "he was just following orders, you see" in a post on X — prompting a flurry of ridicule.
"Worked great at Nuremberg," Rick Wilson, co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, sarcastically replied. Wilson was referring to the series of trials where Nazi leaders were convicted of crimes they committed under German dictator Adolf Hitler.
Another X user shared an AI-generated photo of Trump, Hegseth and other top administration officials sitting at the Nuremberg trials with the caption, "I was just following orders."
Shortly after Hegseth's comments, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said while talking to reporters in Paris about the Iran war, "Ultimately our job is to execute on the president's orders."
"Lmao Hegseth just used the 'just following orders' defense and now Rubio is doing it….they should brush up on the Nuremberg trials and find out how well that defense strategy worked out for the Nazis," a political account called Wu Tang is for the Children wrote.
George Conway, a frequent Trump critic, suggested that, by Hegseth's reasoning, Trump should be impeached too.
"Okay, let's reason this out. Thinking caps ON. If Hegseth committed high crimes or misdemeanors, and if he did them at the behest of, or on behalf of, or in cahoots with, someone else, say, I don't know … uh … let's assume the president of the United States … that would mean .…"
"Gosh, I'm stumped. I know there's a logical conclusion here that should be obvious, but it's just escaping me. Could it mean that someone else has committed impeachable, removable acts too??"
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis posted, "'I was just following orders' isn't the defense Pete Hegseth thinks it is here."
"When I was a young Cadet at West Point, I was taught that an Officer always gives orders in his own name vs blaming them on the higher hq," wrote Army veteran Ben Hodges.
The House will take the first procedural vote on Hegseth's impeachment articles later Tuesday.
Massie has signaled that there is at least support for some of the articles.
"I've heard from several members they agree with some of the Articles of Impeachment but not all of them," the Republican wrote on X Tuesday. "If the motion to kill my resolution by referring it to committee fails, and we proceed to the Articles themselves, I'll request a vote on each of the Articles separately."
Trump — who was impeached twice during his first term and then acquitted by the Senate — said he would stand by Hegseth if the House impeaches him.
The president made the comments during an impromptu press conference with his friend, UFC chief Dana White, where he defended Hegseth and called Massie a "stone-cold loser."
"He's certainly winning the war," Trump said of Hegseth. "Iran would love to make a deal, and they've been obliterated."
