A clip of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth giving a 'cringe' speech to US sailors about the Iran war has gone viral, drawing widespread mockery online. Hegseth was in Singapore on Friday, where he participated in drills with the crew of the USS Boxer and then addressed a group of assembled sailors about the ongoing conflict.
In his remarks, Hegseth referenced a recent comment from President Trump, which threatened further US strikes if Iran does not agree to a deal to end the war. 'He said, "Well, Iran can either do it the right way, with a deal across the table, or they can deal with my guy on the left,"' Hegseth said. 'That happened to be me. But it's not me. It's you guys!'
Online commentators quickly mocked the speech and the audience of service members, who appeared to be mostly unmoved by Hegseth's call to arms. Liberal journalist Aaron Rupar wrote of the video: 'The cringe level is off the charts.' Another X user posted a mock quote from the speech, claiming Hegseth told the crowd that 'dying needlessly for Trump is AWESOME, kids!'
'He plays a role of a cartoon villain with one brain cell,' another X user added under a link to the video. 'A one-dimensional goon.'
Online anger is rarely a good stand-in for genuine public opinion, but in this case, it seems to match. About 58 percent of Americans currently oppose the Iran war, according to the Silver Bulletin polling average.
President Donald Trump, however, has brushed off the domestic political implications of the three-month-old conflict. 'They thought they were going to outwait me,' Trump said of the Iranians during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. 'You know, "We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms." I don't care about the midterms.'
The president was similarly dismissive last week when asked about Iran-related high gas prices for Americans during an appearance at the White House ballroom construction site. 'I don't even think about that,' he said. 'What I think about is you can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon.'
The fate of the war remained uncertain as of Friday afternoon. Earlier in the day, President Trump announced the US would lift its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. The Republican spent hours on Friday in the Situation Room considering a 'final determination' on advancing some form of peace deal, but no progress has been announced yet publicly.
