"Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth torched then-presidential candidate Donald Trump over his insistence that members of the military would follow outlandish and even illegal orders he might issue after taking office back in 2016, according to a new KFile report from CNN's Andrew Kaczynski. In appearances on Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, Hegseth stated that, You're not just gonna follow that order if it's unlawful, and The military's not gonna follow illegal orders, when asked about Trump's claims that they would."
"Here's the problem with Trump, remarked Hegseth during an appearance on Megyn Kelly's Fox show. He says, Go ahead and kill the family. Go ahead and torture. Go ahead and go further than waterboarding.' What happens when people follow those orders, or don't follow them? It's not clear that Donald Trump will have their back, he continued. Donald Trump is oftentimes about Donald Trump. And so you can't; if you're not changing the law and you're just saying it, you create even more ambiguity."
"What Donald Trump is doing here, though, creates more complications, I think, on the backend for a lot of our folks, concluded Hegseth. The string of comments stands in stark contrast to those he's made since six congressional Democrats released a video accusing the Trump administration of pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens, and urging the two groups to refuse illegal orders."
Pete Hegseth condemned Donald Trump's 2016 suggestions that the military would follow extreme or illegal orders, asserting that service members would not obey unlawful commands. Hegseth warned that statements encouraging violence or torture create ambiguity about whether troops would be protected if they refuse illegal orders. Hegseth emphasized that Trump's rhetoric can complicate decision-making and leave unclear whether troops would have presidential backing. Hegseth's criticism contrasted with his later response to a video by six House Democrats urging refusal of illegal orders, which he called despicable, reckless, and false.
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