President Donald Trump gushed over his Pentagon chief's Friday morning appearance on Fox News — but sharp-eyed observers questioned the state of his cognitive health, noting there was no such appearance.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, "Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was great on FoxNews this morning. Talking about modern weapons and warfare. Thank you also to Brett Velicovich, who really knows his 'stuff.' We are really on our way. MAGA!"
But as The Daily Beast noted, Hegseth, whose title remains secretary of Defense, was traveling Friday and never appeared on the conservative network. Instead, the president appeared to be fooled as the network showed a clip Hegesth shared on his X account. That video was posted on Thursday, taken down, and reposted on Friday.
In it, Hegseth dons a suit outside his Pentagon as drones zip around him, proudly declaring, "You know what? We know why we were put here. We were brought here to rebuild the military."
He said he expedited the production and deployment of drones, and signed a memo acknowledging as such that was handed to him by one of the machines.
"This is the future. We're in the fight," he adds in the clip.
Fox News repeatedly shared the clip, according to The Beast, but the network clearly noted it was from Thursday.
Trump critics let the president have it.
Independent journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X, "Pete Hegseth was not on Fox News this morning. They did play a clip of a video Hegseth posted on social media. Perhaps a confused Trump thought it was live."
The Republicans against Trump account replied to Rupar on X, "Trump’s cognitive decline is getting hard to ignore."
Software engineer Alex Jewell chided, "I’m not sure Trump knows the difference between live and pre-recorded, if we’re being honest."
Former MSNBC host and Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan lost it.
"Imagine. If. It. Was. Biden," he railed.
Political writer Mona Burns chimed in, "Coupla things:1. Hegseth wasn't on Fox this morning 2. What's his name clearly did not write this post[.] Even his social media team can't get it right."
Self-described news junkie Lauren Ashley Davis wrote on X, "Trump is sundowning again."
Harry Jarin, candidate for Maryland Congress, added, "Pete Hegseth was not on Fox News today. The position of Secretary of War was eliminated in 1947. Our political establishment is run by feeble, elderly, and increasingly senile politicians from both sides of the aisle."
Watch the video below or at this link.
Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance @DOGEpic.twitter.com/esaQtswwDb
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) July 11, 2025