Once-again embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a meme to seemingly defend himself from war crimes allegations over his orders to strike two survivors of a missile attack.
The Washington Post reported last week that Hegseth verbally ordered a follow-on attack Sept. 2 of two survivors clinging to wreckage of a bombed boat that administration officials say was smuggling drugs from Venezuela to the U.S., and that led a military commander to carry out the second strike.
Hegseth did not directly contradict the newspaper's reporting, which was based on claims by a number of sources familiar with the matter and came a week after Democratic lawmakers recorded a video reminding service members of their duty to disobey unlawful orders, but called the allegations “fabricated and inflammatory.”
President Donald Trump seemingly distanced himself from Hegseth in comments Sunday evening aboard Air Force One, saying he "wouldn’t have wanted a second strike," but insisted he maintained confidence for the self-styled secretary of war, who baffled many by posting a meme around the same time the president was speaking.
"For your Christmas wish list…," Hegseth posted on X at 7:37 p.m. EST Sunday, showing an altered cover of a children's book series depicting a situation similar to military operations the Trump administration says it's carrying out in Central America.
The image posted by Hegseth shows Franklin the Turtle wearing combat great and firing a bazooka from a helicopter on boats in the water below, titled, "Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists."
The defense secretary's post spurred strong criticism about his judgment.
"Trump just claimed hours ago that Hegseth told him he didn't order the killing of that boat crew in the Caribbean," posted MS NOW producer Kyle Griffith.
"Are we going to be a country that lets a person meme and shitpost his way out of accountability for alleged war crimes, or do some things still matter?" asked The Bulwark's Sarah Longwell.
"He’s posting throu it," marveled writer Molly Jong-Fast.
"There is something very wrong with the secretary of defense," cringed The Atlantic's Tom Nichols.
"When you know you’re getting a pardon, you’re not afraid of anything," grumbled Bluesky user Andy.
"Secretary of war crimes!" barked Alexander Vindman, former national security council staffer.
"Jesus. The immaturity and lack of professionalism never stop," sighed Blueseky user Ex-expat. "And yet, this unserious person is running the military."
"Before you ask, yes apparently this is real," added Bluesky user Travis Reese. "He must be taking comedy lessons and substances from Elon."