President Donald Trump's war victory claims drew jeers after one of his top officials quietly went into hiding.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has left his Washington-area home for a military base after Iran threatened his life, The New York Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Bessent has spearheaded the administration's effort to strangle Tehran's finances since August, a role the Times' sources said put him high on Iran's target list. He's the latest in a string of senior Trump officials, including White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, to trade a private home for a military base or other guarded housing.
The news landed awkwardly for a president who launched the war on Feb. 28 and has repeatedly promised to end the widely unpopular conflict, the Times noted.
Former State Department lawyer Brian Finucane needled the administration on Bluesky.
"One thing I really appreciate about the Trump administration is the fearless leadership by alpha males," he wrote. "Also, if Trump has 'won' the war with Iran, what is there to be afraid of?"
Political analyst Anthony LaMesa was among those who found the development unsettling.
"It's a bit scary how drone warfare has led to a situation where now people need to move to little fortresses to be safe," he posted on X. "Like back in medieval times."
Hawks in Trump's orbit, meanwhile, turned their fire on the administration for not escalating.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, a Trump ally, raged that "all of our cabinet secretaries have to cower in fear and live on military bases because our country just won't finish the damn job in Iran," calling the situation “f— pathetic."
She added that she "preferred living in America when we bombed Islamic terrorists and made playing cards with their faces on the cards."
Two officials told the Times that U.S. intelligence shows Iran's hard-line leaders are determined to keep power whatever the cost, a sign that financial pressure alone may not topple them.