Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's seeming overtures toward a future run for office, or possibly even the presidency, startled a CNN panel on Monday evening — as they tried to work through the implications.
Mark Williams of Ferox Strategies attempted to downplay the possibility of it happening.
"I don't think anyone's talking about Pete Hegseth potentially running for president except for reporters," he said. "You know, if you look at, you know, who the field might be, I don't see his name ever pop up in kind of the top five."
Former Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, however, had her eye on another sign.
"I will say ... for the Secretary of Defense to be out there on the campaign trail, he has campaigned with multiple Republican candidates in different states," said Singh. This behavior, she continued, "shows a misplaced priority specifically of this administration. So I would not be surprised if someone like Pete Hegseth says, well, maybe I should run for president."
"But all the secretaries [are] out on the road," insisted Williams.
"But the Secretary of Defense is always meant to be apolitical and is never meant to be ... part of the campaign apparatus," shot back Singh, a point Williams conceded. "And this is particularly unusual with what we have seen."
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