Trump Crashes Out on Pete: Prez Demanded Answers From Hegseth After Defense Sec. Abruptly Canceled Major Military Operation

Donald Trump was left raging at Pete Hegseth, RadarOnline.com can reveal, after the Secretary of Defense appeared to bumble a major military operation.

The president and officials were said to have been left baffled after Hegseth decided to abruptly cancel the deployment of U.S. troops to Poland, leading to an earful from Trump.

Despite 4,000 American troops ready to be deployed to Poland, the former Fox News personality put a halt to it, which reportedly led to chaos at the Pentagon from high-profile figures as well as the country's European allies. However, it was Hegseth's boss who was left fuming more than anyone else.

According to a current and a former U.S. official, Trump reached out to Hegseth via phone and demanded he explain himself. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. should keep Poland on its good side, given its close ties to the White House.

After Trump had previously raged over European allies' lack of support for his war in Iran, according to CNN, Hegseth took it upon himself to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Europe. However, it was Germany, and not Poland, that had pushed back on Trump's war.

In April, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruffled Trump's feathers by noting that "the Iranians are clearly stronger than expected, and the Americans clearly have no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either." At the time, she added that "a whole nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership."

Hegseth's unexpected decision left a bad taste in some politicians' mouths, especially Nebraska Republican Don Bacon, who went off, "This is a slap in the face to Poland. It's a slap in the face to our Baltic friends."

Following Hegseth's fumble, Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday, May 21, to announce that the U.S. would indeed be sending troops to Poland.

"Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland," Trump declared on Truth Social.

Following Trump's message, Poland's foreign minister Radosław Sikorski thanked Trump for his "announcement that the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels."

While Trump has defended the job Hegseth is doing in public, earlier this year, the 45-year-old appeared to receive a backhanded compliment from the president.

"Somebody came up to me yesterday, gave you a very hard time," Trump claimed about Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting in March. According to Trump, an anonymous source told him that he "made a mistake" in hiring Hegseth.

Trump attempted to put Hegseth at ease by adding, "Pete Hegseth is doing a great job," before adding, "When I tell you who, you're not even going to believe it. He gave you such a nasty, hard time."

Hegseth's short tenure as Secretary of Defense has been rocky to say the least, as several firings, scandals, and public meltdowns have many thinking if he will get the boot soon.

It also doesn't help that James Walkinshaw, who serves on the Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, claimed he witnessed Hegseth in classified briefings acting "embarrassingly."

"He can't answer detailed questions. He doesn't understand the strategy, not that there is one; he doesn't understand the tactical or operational questions," Walkinshaw claimed.

Walkinshaw added, "He is in way the hell over his head."