NBC, citing multiple sources, reported on the 28th (local time) that Pete Hegseth, U.S. Ministry of National Defense (War Department) Minister, is considering a run in the 2028 presidential election.
According to the report, Minister Hegseth has recently discussed a presidential bid with his closest aides. NBC said he and his wife have been reviewing the possibility of entering the race for months.
NBC explained that Hegseth and those around him believe he is the right person to carry on the popularity that President Donald Trump enjoyed within the "MAGA" camp.
However, Minister Hegseth immediately denied the report. On the social media platform X, he wrote, "100% false," adding, "NBC is lying."
He then played on "MAGA," adding, "My only mission is to make the Ministry of National Defense great again."
Born in 1980, Minister Hegseth earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a master's from the Harvard Kennedy School.
After graduating from college, he began his career as an analyst at the Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns, and he was commissioned as a National Guard officer, serving in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba—home to a U.S. military detention facility for terrorism suspects—as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He later worked as a host at Fox News, supported then-presidential candidate Trump, and was subsequently tapped as defense secretary for the second administration.
Because the U.S. Constitution bars President Trump from seeking a third term, the Republican Party's leading potential candidates to succeed him have mainly included Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Washington Post (WP) also reported on the 6th that, in a private meeting with donors, President Trump spoke to the effect that Vice President Vance should be elected in the 2028 presidential election.