“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough reacted live Friday morning to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth‘s latest press briefing about the war in Iran, calling some of his comments “just not true at all.”
On Friday, Hegseth said the United States’ navy blockade against Iran had gone global and addressed concerns about the Middle East nation planting more mines in the Strait of Hormuz, telling Pentagon reporters that doing so would be in violation of America and Iran’s current ceasefire agreement. He also said that the war has been a success because Iran will not have nuclear weapons at the end of it, a comment which Scarborough quickly latched onto.
“He accurately said there have been great military successes and that America’s military is unmatched in the world,” the MS NOW host noted atop the segment. “He inaccurately said that there’s been a clear mission objective from the very beginning. That’s just not the case.”
“I’m putting a star by the fact that Pete Hegseth has said this morning, ‘Iran will not have nuclear weapons,’” Scarborough continued. “Anything short of that and short of the Strait being opened when this war ends will be an abject failure for this administration. If they are able to take away Iran’s nuclear weapons and open the Strait, then most likely a success.”
Scarborough, for his part, additionally took issue with Hegseth’s insistence that previous American presidential administrations had done nothing about Iran’s regime over the past 40+ years but look the other way.
“That’s just not true at all,” the former politician said. “Seven administrations have talked about the dangers that Iran poses to the world. Seven administrations have also understood that going to war could cause the exact economic problems globally that are being caused right now.”
The “Morning Joe” host later called out Hegseth for making a comment about European leaders needing to stop having “fancy conferences” and “get in a boat” to help America deal with Iran’s hold over the Strait of Hormuz.
“It’s fascinating that he mocks and ridicules our allies in Europe that helped us destroy the Soviet Union,” Scarborough remarked. “This is something the administration is obsessed with, their hatred of Europe, their hatred of Western democracy, their hatred of the very people that helped us defeat the Soviet Union and also many who fought side by side with us to destroy Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.”
“Interesting timing to talk about how Europe does nothing but conduct fancy cocktail parties the morning after 90 billion euros of aid [were] given to Ukraine because this administration continues to do nothing to help the Ukrainian people push back the Russians,” he added.
