U.S. President Donald Trump on the 6th (local time) flatly denied a U.S. media report that he harshly reprimanded Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, over a U.S. military ammunition shortage sparked by the Iran war.
On Truth Social that day, Trump said, "As always, fake news is spreading lies and completely baseless rumors," and added, "I am extremely satisfied with Hegseth's work."
What he refuted was a Washington Post (WP) article titled "Trump and Hegseth clash at Camp David over fears of depleted missiles for Iran." WP reported that at a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland on the 31st, Trump angrily pressed Minister Hegseth over the ammunition shortage.
WP also said Minister Hegseth defended himself by shifting responsibility for failing to properly report low ammunition stocks to Stephen Feinberg, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of National Defense. It added that as the Iran war drags on, Trump's trust in Minister Hegseth, who has strongly advocated military operations against Iran, is wavering.
Trump strongly backed Minister Hegseth that day. Citing an operation earlier this year to oust President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, he rated Hegseth as "amazingly excellent."
On the Iran war, he also claimed, "We have laid waste to ensure Iran can never possess nuclear weapons, and things are going very smoothly."
Trump derided WP, which reported the alleged rebuke of Minister Hegseth, as "the Washington ComPost (ComPost; compost means 'fertilizer')," calling it "one of the worst news organizations in the business." He went on to claim, "I sincerely believe their fake reporting is tantamount to treason."