U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine listen while U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from the media during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
President Donald Trump nearly spilled state secrets while he soft-pitched a movie to reporters during a press conference on Monday, according to a new report.
The New Republic reported on Monday that Trump made the comments during a rambling portion of the press conference where he described how U.S. forces rescued an Air Force officer who was shot down and injured behind enemy lines. Trump announced on Sunday that a successful rescue mission had taken place.
Throughout the press conference, Trump gave little hints about the operation to save the officer. At one point, Trump turned to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and asked him how his men pulled off the mission, according to the report.
"I'd love to keep that a secret," Caine replied.
Trump offered his own description of the rescue, the report added.
“They came in so fast and so hard, and these guys knew exactly what to do. ‘Let’s go, come on, get in, let’s go,’ bwah,” Trump said while he mimed a plane taking off. “They came one after another, not at the same time. They don’t want to come at the same time. They had to come right after each other. They didn’t have any room. There was barely any room to land. Tiny little patch of very wet earth and sand.”