President Donald Trump, in a Memphis speech, spent his time “throwing Pete Hegseth under the bus” over the war in Iran.
Trump, who was chillingly exposed as not the true architect behind his ‘cruel’ plans, said about the night the U.S. decided to bomb the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s brutal government, “I called Pete, I called General Kaine. I called a lot of our great people. We have great people, and I said, let’s talk. We’ve got a problem in the Middle East.”
“We have a country known as Iran that for 47 years has been just a purveyor of terror. And they’re very close to having a nuclear weapon. We can keep going and get that 50,000 up to 55 and 60. There’s no end,” Trump explained. It comes after Melania Trump’s comments about Barron’s mental state exposed why he can’t be drafted into the army.
“Or we can take a stop and make a little journey into the Middle East and eliminate a big problem. And Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up, and you said, let’s do it because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon. So we are now having really good discussions. They started last night, a little bit the night before that,” Trump continued.
One X user commenting on the moment said, “Once again President Trump throws a cabinet member under the bus, this time it’s Secretary Pete Hegseth. The President does this frequently and each and every one of them allow it!”
Another added, “Same reason MAGA hates most of his first cabinet. Throws them all under the bud eventually and the cult lines up for it.”
Trump blames Hegseth for the war: "Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. You said, 'Let's do it.'" pic.twitter.com/QBGeFuhM1M
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2026
Trump, originally visiting Memphis, Tennessee for a roundtable to review and “highlight the work and achievements of the Memphis Safe Task Force as it nears its six-month milestone in the region,” instead harped on Iran, among other topics.
The task force, which brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, has made 7,240 arrests and seized 1,188 firearms since it launched operations in September 2025, according to the Trump White House.
Speaking in Tennessee on Monday, Trump said his administration has been negotiating with Iran “for a long time” and said he believes a deal is close. He did not make clear who was involved in negotiations with Iran.
“They want peace,” Trump said. “They’ve agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon, you know, et cetera, et cetera, but we’ll see.”
Senior Iranian officials insist there have been no negotiations with the United States.
In his remarks, Trump said there’s a “very good chance” a deal will be reached this week. He credited his threat to blow up Iranian power plants.
The president said he ordered a pause on strikes for five days to work on a deal, “and then we’re going to see where that takes us.”
