Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. troops have a “duty” to refuse illegal orders from President Donald Trump in a series of 2016 interviews, which have resurfaced.
Speaking on ”Fox and Friends” in March 2016, Hegseth criticized the president’s demands that military officials should ignore the rules of war to achieve their goals.
“You’re not just gonna follow that order if it’s unlawful,” Hegseth said on “Fox and Friends” at the time.
Later that month, he told ”Fox Business” that “the military’s not gonna follow illegal orders.”
The resurfaced interview arrives weeks after Hegseth announced the Pentagon would be investigating Democratic Senator Mark Kelly for participating in a video in which he encouraged active service members to ignore any order that defies the U.S. Constitution.
Kelly and other Democrats made the video in response to the Trump administration’s recent lethal attacks on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
One of those attacks from September is currently generating controversy, as reports allege the administration launched multiple strikes on a boat despite there being shipwrecked survivors.
Supreme Court to hear arguments in blockbuster case that could extend Trump’s power further
This morning, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a case between Trump and Rebecca Slaughter, the former head of the Federal Trade Commission, whom Trump fired earlier this year for not aligning with his agenda.
In what is set to be another major case for Trump’s authority, the justices will be deciding whether the president had the authority to fire Slaughter.
According to 90 years of precedent, the president is not allowed to fire the heads of independent agencies, such as the FTC, for any reason other than “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
But since taking back the White House, Trump has interpreted Supreme Court landmark rulings and Constitutional amendments as a light suggestion
The president and his allies are proponents of the “unitary executive theory” – the idea that the president has complete control over the entire executive branch.
Trump insults Marjorie Taylor Greene after ‘60 Minutes’ interview
Defending himself against Greene, the president claimed she “went BAD” because “she was JILTED by the President of the United States.”
“Marjorie is not AMERICA FIRST or MAGA, because nobody could have changed her views so fast, and her new views are those of a very dumb person,” Trump wrote.
Among his insults, Trump called Greene a “Rotten Apple,” “Traitor,” and “low IQ.”
The president went on to demand that “60 Minutes” interviewer Lesley Stahl lied about the Hunter Biden laptop controversy
Nancy Sinatra takes fresh swipe at Trump
When someone commented, “Your Dad would have loved Trump,” Nancy shot back, “Do some homework before you make a fool of yourself. My dad LOATHED Trump.”
Tom Murray has the full story…
Colin Allred drops out of Senate race to make room for possible Jasmine Crockett run
Former representative Colin Allred has announced that he will not be running for the Texas Senate to avoid a “bruising” primary.
Instead, Allred will be running to become the representative for Texas’s new 33rd congressional district.
“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt,” he wrote on X.
Democratic firebrand Jasmine Crockett is widely expected to run for the Texas Senate.
The incumbent John Cornyn is battling with other Republicans ahead of the primaries, as his hold on the seat looks increasingly uncertain.
He faces pressure Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Representative Wesley Hunt.
Trump floats a name change for the Kennedy Center
Donald Trump joked about renaming the Kennedy Center after himself as he compered the performing arts venue’s annual awards evening on Sunday.
“This place is hot,” the president said during his remarks at the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors, as he admired the building’s latest makeover, carried out to his own specifications. “The Trump-Kennedy Center. I mean, the Kennedy Center. I’m sorry. This is terribly embarrassing.”
Joe Sommerlad has the full story…
Pete Hegseth repeatedly warned of Trump giving illegal military orders in 2016
Pete Hegseth repeatedly warned of Trump giving illegal military orders in 2016, in resurfaced interview clips, which come as the Secretary of Defense becomes increasingly mired in controversy over his alleged “double-tap” strike.
“You’re not just gonna follow that order if it’s unlawful,” Hegseth said on Fox and Friends in March 2016, referring to army officials.
“The military’s not gonna follow illegal orders,” he said on an appearance on Fox Business during the same month.
At the time, Trump claimed that military lawyers and officials should ignore the rules of war to meet their goals.
The news comes after Pete Hegseth allegedly ordered officers to “kill everybody” on board an alleged Venezuelan drug boat.
A strike was launched at the vessel shortly before the survivors were bombed in a second attack.
Trump’s top pick to lead the federal reserve could send inflation skyrocketing
Experts have warned that Donald Trump’s top-pick to lead the Federal Reserve could send inflation soaring.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, is expected to take over from the incumbent Jerome Powell, whom Trump has repeatedly clashed with.
However, economist Justin Wolfers has warned the president against appointing a loyalist to the role.
“We’ve seen it happen in other countries like Turkey—you appoint a loyalist, the loyalist puts in place policies that reflect the president’s idiosyncratic, utterly bizarre, dreamtime views about how the economy works,” Wolfers told MS NOW. “And what happened in Turkey was inflation rose to 80 percent.”
Experts say the US-China trade truce will hold…for now
The truce in China and the United States’ trade war should hold into next year, according to experts.
Economists told The Telegraph that exports remain a key driver in the economies of both countries, so it makes sense for each nation to continue trading as normal for now.
“We believe exports will remain a key driver for growth next year,” an analyst at Citi told the publication. “In our base case, the US-China trade truce will likely be sustained through 2026 despite being fragile.”
Duncan Wrigley from Pantheon Macroeconomics added that Chinese economic growth could continue, even if the EU clamps down on imports.
Much of that growth will be driven by exports to Africa.
“November’s data suggest this approach remains viable, despite US tariffs, with shipments to non-US markets rising 12.1pc,” Wrigely told The Telegraph. “That said, some developed markets are likely to take protectionist measures, as President Macron said with respect to the EU.”
“Exports to the Global South should remain resilient, though growth rates to markets like Africa may slow given the meteoric rises this year,” he added.
Watch: Trump claims that people were coming into America from the ‘fourth world’
Donald Trump has claimed that immigrants from the “fourth world” were coming into America, before he took office.
However, scholars have not normally defined any country as being “fourth world.”
Even the use of “third world” has become increasingly outdated, with economists generally using the term Economically Less Developed Countries.
Trump no longer disputing criticisms of Hegseth, report says
While the president has stood by Hegseth in public, he has shown less enthusiasm behind closed doors, The Atlantic reported on Friday.
Several unnamed sources familiar with White House discussions spoke to the publication, with one describing it as a “rough week for Pete.”
Brendan Rascius has the full story…
