President Donald Trump praised War Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s leadership but claimed it was too early to consider backing a 2028 White House run by the Pentagon chief.
“I think he’s doing a fantastic job, but it’s very early to talk about that,” Trump told the Washington Examiner while speaking in the Oval Office on Monday. “We have to get through the midterms, and I think he’s a very good guy. But I’ll bet there’s a lot of people considering it that you don’t know about … you have a lot of people.”
Hegseth has publicly denied interest in running for president. The war secretary has even gone as far as to claim that recent reports about him discussing the idea with friends and confidants are “100% false.”
Yet, Hegseth’s increasing presence on the 2026 campaign trail has sparked rumors about his political future. This month, Hegseth appeared in Iowa to campaign for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), a two-term lawmaker representing a battleground district. Earlier this year, Hegseth also campaigned against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in Kentucky’s Republican primary, an unusually partisan political activity for a Pentagon chief.
“His ceiling is as high as he wants it to be,” said Bob Vander Plaats, an influential evangelical leader who heads the Iowa Family Leader.
Several other Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have indicated interest in a White House run in two years’ time. Cruz recently said that the GOP is not completely sold on the inevitability of Vice President JD Vance as Trump’s MAGA successor. The Texas senator also said that he would be involved in any conversation about the future of the GOP.
HEGSETH’S GROWING CAMPAIGN ROLE SPARKS TALK OF POLITICAL FUTURE
Despite saying it was too early, Trump did not tamp down a potential Hegseth run. Instead, the president praised Hegseth’s handling of the War Department’s fight against Iran, which reignited this week.
“He’s done a great job. And right now, all he loves is and all he cares about is the military and taking care of the military,” Trump said. “And we went into Venezuela, we won. We went into Iran, and we’re beating the hell out of them, and doing a good job, yeah.”