On Monday morning, however, the beleaguered and woefully unqualified secretary had a fresh opportunity to show the public that he’s capable of leading the Pentagon during a major military conflict, when he hosted a press conference ostensibly to make the administration’s case for war.

It did not go well. The New Republic reported:

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth basically admitted during a press conference Monday that he doesn’t care about military rules of engagement, and is grateful that Israel doesn’t either.

‘Israel has clear missions as well for which we are grateful. Capable partners, as we’ve said since the beginning, capable partners are good partners, unlike so many of our traditional allies who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force,’ Hegseth said, scoffing at America’s allies in Europe as well as international law meant to minimize civilian casualties and prevent war crimes.

Moments later, the secretary, who has an unfortunate record related to his dismissive attitude toward war crimes, derided “stupid rules of engagement.”

Hegseth: "Israel has clear missions as well for which we are grateful. Capable partners are good partners, unlike so many of our traditional allies who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force ... no stupid rules of engagement."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-02T13:14:21.080Z

It was not the only example of Hegseth showing just how unprepared he was for prime time. In fact, during the same relatively short briefing, the Pentagon chief suggested the Trump administration didn’t start the war it started, took some time to whine about Joe Biden and said in response to weapons that killed American service members, “Every once in a while you might have a squirter that makes its way through.”....

Expectations were low headed into Monday morning, but Hegseth nevertheless struggled to clear a bar that hovered near the floor. What the nation needed was a capable defense secretary; what Americans saw was a former Fox News host who was in over his head.

As the bombs began falling, The Washington Post reported that within the Defense Department, there were intensifying fears about the administration’s policy and its consequences. If Hegseth set out to allay those fears, he failed spectacularly