Earlier today, NPR reported that the white House is looking for possible replacements for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Now, the Defense Department under his leadership has kind of been in shambles. There's been a lot of scandal, a lot of drama, a lot of infighting because of the differing views on what the U.S. [00:00:17] Foreign policy should be. Now, the reporting from NPR didn't really get into too many details. They basically reported that the white House had begun the process of looking for a new secretary of defense, according to a U.S. [00:00:32] Official who was not authorized to speak publicly. Now, following that report, Caroline Leavitt, white House press secretary, denied it. She called it fake news. But then Erick Erickson, who's a conservative radio show host, he began to confirm it on Twitter or X, responding to other people's comments [00:00:50] and stuff like that. He said that people in the white House are looking at possible secretary of defense replacements. Trump is not inclined to replace the secretary of defense. People in the white House believe more is coming on Hegseth that will turn Trump toward wanting a replacement. [00:01:06] Now, I want to be clear Erick Erickson is not a fan of Donald Trump's. I'm taking what he's saying at face value because like, what do you know that we don't know? What are your sources? Do you have any receipts to show us? And the fact that he doesn't like the Trump administration makes me take what he's saying with a grain of salt at the moment [00:01:23] until I actually see some more evidence. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Trump administration ultimately replaces Hegseth. Yeah. So look, these are the type of stories where I'm like, well, we'll find out, right? So like because the right wing will say, no way, man. This is all fake news, etc. And the left wing will no say no. [00:01:40] We know for sure. None of us know for sure. But right now it doesn't look good. There's a lot of blowups at the Defense Department. It looks like a mess. He accidentally leaked our war plans several different times, so if they're looking for a replacement, it wouldn't be earth shattering news, right? And it makes some degree of sense. [00:01:57] But then if Trump decides to stick with him, then they'll pretend the whole thing was fake news in the first place. But that's to me, that's not the important part. The important part is why are they trying to replace him? Is it because he's got some personal issues or whatever else it might be? [00:02:12] Or for policy reasons? That's the most relevant part. Yeah, I agree. Further, Erickson says it's not the president, but those around him who expect more shoes to drop that turned the president against Hegseth, and they're trying to get ready for it. So buckle up. [00:02:27] It seems like there might be some more revelations coming from the Defense Department. And we'll see. We'll see what it is. Yeah. And for look, the fact that it's both NPR and Erick Erickson who is a right winger, confirming from people inside the white House that they're looking at a list, [00:02:44] by the way, they're saying it's not Trump that's looking at the list. They're going to take it to Trump. It's other people making a list, by the way, that also, if I was in the white House and I was the chief of staff, I'd be looking at a list because I'd be thinking, well, we might have to make a decision if we have to make a decision. [00:03:00] I want to be able to give the president some options. And part of the reason I tell you guys all that is if you're an independent or a right winger and you see stories like this and your initial reaction is always fake news, just calm down, okay? It it could be real. And they keep Hegseth anyway, right? [00:03:16] Not everything is fake news. And not all discussions of turmoil at the white House is meant to destroy Trump. It could just be a thing that's happening. That's all. Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets his wings. Totally not true. [00:03:31] But it does keep you updated on our live shows.