Trump blames Hegseth for starting his war: ""Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. You said, 'Let's do it.'"

[Miles Archer]

Aaron Rupar

‪@atrupar.com‬
Trump blames Hegseth for the war: "Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. You said, 'Let's do it.'"

Trump blames Hegseth for the war: "Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. You said, 'Let's do it.'"

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-23T16:58:01.191Z

[tanyev]

1. LOL, here they come, Pete!

[JI7]

2. Hegseth isn't the President

Hegseth doesn't make the final decision.

If he isn't up to the job he needs to resign.

[Miles Archer]

9. Trump missed that subtle distinction

He's too arrogant and ignorant to understand that something like that makes him look like a weak "leader" who is willing to take bad advice from his cabinet members.

[patphil]

3. It's starting to get crowded under that bus.

[sarisataka]

4. Sec Hegseth,

Meet the underside of the Trump bus.

[spanone]

5. Pete & trmp have a bloodlust

[cloudbase]

6. The buck stops with thee, not me.

[MustLoveBeagles]

7. 😔

Truman: The Buck stops here.

trump: The Buck stops... with everyone else but me!!!

[lame54]

19. The Bucks stop here...

While the blame goes elsewhere

[fargone]

34. But the bus doesn't stop

[eggplant]

40. Trump agrees!

The buck stops with Truman.

[gab13by13]

8. Whiskey Pete will not go quietly.

It will take a lot of money to pay Hogsbreath to take the fall.

[LuvLoogie]

26. They won't pay him off.

He was originally selected to take the fall for any fuck ups that the Supreme Court and Congress can't cover trump for.

Trust me, Hegseth doesn't know anything that could get trump in serious trouble that trump hasn't already gotten a pass for.

And IF he does know something, he's a fool for not getting out when he had the chance. But he's a college fratboy drunk on booze and white christo supremacist delusion, blind to his own peril. At this point he's probably down to two choices: a spider hole or an open window.

[niyad]

35. Oh, I don't know. donny two scoops has some. . .shall we say interesting. .

associates. . .shouldn't be all that expensive to solve the problem.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Can we all agree that a President who doesn't take responsibility for his decisions

does not have the qualities expected from a leader of the once and great United States of America?

[Miles Archer]

11. Because he thinks he can get away with everything, he thinks he can get away with this.

I don't personally believe that Noem was sacked because she spend a quarter of a billion dollars on a video to promote herself.

"The word" was that this angered Trump, and he cut her loose.

Something else happened at the same time.

She basically said "I am only doing what Stephen Miller tells me to do" and POOF! She was gone

Because you can only blame DOWNHILL, never UPHILL, especially when Pee Wee German is at the top of that hill.

I think she said that, Miller picked up the phone, "vented" to Trump, and Trump said "OK," and she was gone.

It's also in character for Miller to have said "Give her a superhero name that makes her look like a loser for accepting it."

But a "leader"...in politics, in business, anywhere...CAN NEVER GET AWAY WITH BLAMING THEIR SUBORDINATES when THEY have the ultimate responsibility.

[lame54]

20. What does not getting away with it look like...

He'll still be prez and will still make atrocious decisions

[Miles Archer]

23. Unless he gets impeached or heads off to his dirt nap before January 20, 2029, we have him for another 1033 days

He'll never be removed by the 25th Amendment. NEVER.

He'll only be impeached, convicted and removed if we pick up enough seats in November.

SO...

...unless it's time for his dirt nap, nothing else will matter. He can (and will) do a LOT MORE DAMAGE before he's through.

[moonscape]

16. If only we had known

[agingdem]

12. if Tulsi Gabbard is to be believed she stated at a House hearing

Trump is the ultimate decider...so I'm guessing Hegseth, a perpetually glued to Trump's ass yes-man, said "Great idea, my divine emperor, let's do it!"

[B.See]

42. Exactly. And what I keep saying.

His sycophants and suck-ups do NOTHING without Trump's approval.

Yet many keep affording him DENIABILITY, however implausible.

[City Lights]

13. LOL. So predictable.

Enjoy being dragged under the bus, Pete.

[Amethyst Ring]

14. So long, Pete

We won't miss you.

[Goonch]

15. ;-{) Used Florsheims Anyone?

[David__77]

17. He pre-emptively blamed Iranian opposition forces in his initial speech announcing this aggression.

[Torchlight]

18. When all else fails, blame someone else. Every damned time.

After all is said and done, I wonder who he'll blame his presidency on in '28 as America begins our three-generation long apology to the world for what we're about to do during the next three years.

He'll be seen as nothing other than the Great Shame of America's 21st century, but he still has plenty of opportunity to burn more down before the wee man's time is over.

[William Seger]

21. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Stupid Wars

Donald #rump, Commander in Denial

[Mme. Defarge]

22. I think that le merde

has finally hit le ventilateur!

[Efilroft Sul]

24. Well, I'll be damned. I thought Bibi said it first.

[hibbing]

25. Party of personal responsibility n/t

[yankee87]

27. War criminal

He’ll be up for war crimes

[Tertullian]

28. USA Losing This War Will Be Trump's Fault.

Not Hegseth's fault. Trump is POTUS. Trump is the one who launched this war of choice against Muslims. Trump will blame everybody but himself when the USA loses this war to Iran's Muslims. Muslims worldwide know that the USA is not very good at winning a long war against a determined enemy.

[Lucky Luciano]

29. The buck stops anywhere but here.

[Squaredeal]

30. We're not all that stupid, Don.

[Trueblue1968]

31. Dont we just all hate his dam guts !!!!!

[barbtries]

32. 2 delusional psychopaths walk into a bar.

and stagger out with a war.

and ICE is already brutalizing people at the airport.

[Initech]

33. Worst administration ever!

[Evolve Dammit]

36. Considering he was shouting "I hate Muslims" out of a car in Cuyahoga Falls OH and has the Christo Fascist tattoos...

[SamuelTheThird]

37. WAPO says they've given up on regime change and de-nuclearization

Getting Hormuz open being the main goal

I don't put too much stock in any reports but if ture this is like burning down your house to light the fireplace

[dalton99a]

39. +1. And the Strait of Hormuz was open before the war

[Ohioboy]

38. These supposed talks started last night?

Maybe he should be engaging in those talks instead of whatever this is that looks like a rally?

[pattyloutwo]

41. I couldn't copy and paste successfully

But the link has a great cartoon - The 5 Stages of Working For Tr**p - and that Pete is at stage 3.5