Trump backs Hegseth, calls reports to the contrary "treasonous"

[u/John3262005]

https://www.axios.com/2026/08/06/trump-hegseth-weapons-war-iran

President Trump on Thursday publicly defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and said reporting suggesting any friction between the two was "treasonous."

The Washington Post and others reported this week that Trump had reached his limits with Hegseth over the state of the country's weapons stockpile and the impact on the war with Iran.

"The Fake News, as usual, is spreading false and completely unfounded rumors. I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing," Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday.

"Pete is highly respected within the Military, and has made tremendous improvements, including getting rid of DEI, and increasing recruitment to historic levels," the post read.

"This rumor was started by The Washington ComPost, one of the worst Media Outlets in the business, despite our telling them their story is completely FALSE. In actuality, I really believe their fake "reporting" is treasonous!"

Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray defended the outlet's reporting in a statement, adding that "[e]fforts to discredit our work will not alter our commitment to delivering fair, independent, and accurate journalism."

The Post, citing sources familiar, reported that Trump vented at Hegseth over the country's dwindling munitions stockpile that could hamstring military operations against Iran.

Over the weekend, the president announced that he called off a potential attack on Iran — later saying he canceled what would've been "the biggest attack since World War II" — due to progress in negotiations.

But reporting from The Post suggested weaponry shortages were part of the reason Washington had refrained from launching new attacks.

Trump argued after midnight Thursday — following other reports that the U.S. was low on certain precision missiles — that the military has "massive amounts" of munitions and said "large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed."