Pete Hegseth Asked If Trump Is "Mentally Stable" To Lead US. His Reply Is Viral

Hegseth later said Donald Trump is an "incredible commander-in-chief who puts our troops first."

01 May 2026, 04:20 · NDTV

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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth defended Trump’s mental stability during a congressional hearing
Hegseth compared scrutiny of Trump to that faced by President Biden to counter criticism
The 2027 military budget proposal seeks a historic $1.5 trillion increase in defense spending

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Amid the war in Iran, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was grilled in Congress over President Donald Trump's "mental stability" and his "unhinged" social media rants, where at one point, he threatened the safety of the "whole civilisation". Hegseth's reply to the query during a hearing on Capitol Hill has since then gone viral on social media, where he tried to defend the president instead of giving a straight yes-or-no reply.

In the clip, Democrat lawmaker Sara Jacobs can be seen asking Hegseth if Trump was "mentally stable enough" to be the "commander-in-chief".

A visibly frustrated defence secretary quickly jumped to the president's rescue and asked if the same questions were posed to Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, for "four years".

Jacobs replied, "Joe Biden is not the president. Trump has been president for a year and a half."

"I won't even engage in the level of disparagement that you're putting on the commander-in-chief," an angry Hegseth said. He later added that Trump is an "incredible commander-in-chief who puts our troops first".

ALSO READ: Pete Hegseth Defends $1.5 Trillion Defence Budget Amid Iran War

The Hearing

During the hearings on Wednesday and Thursday, members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees also delved into the Trump administration's 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defence spending to a historic $1.5 trillion.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth said the record request would "position our forces for the current and future fights" while reversing years of "underinvestment and mismanagement".

"The $1.5 trillion budget will ensure that the United States continues to maintain the world's most powerful and capable military," he said.

ALSO READ: 60-Day Deadline Hours Away, Team Trump Denies Being At War With Iran

Hegseth framed the proposal as a generational reset of US military strength, highlighting investments in industrial capacity, advanced weapons and troop welfare. He pointed to a "seven per cent" pay increase for junior enlisted personnel and said the budget would eliminate "all poor or failing barracks".

"A nation's ability to build, to innovate and to support the critical needs of its warfighters at speed and at scale is the foundation upon which its deterrence and survival rests," he said.

ALSO READ: "Lying To American Public": Pete Hegseth Under Fire In Congress Over Iran War

Concerns Over Trump's Mental Agility

Amid a stalemate in peace talks with Iran, Trump has made threatening, at times incendiary posts on social media, several of which were pushed out at midnight, while most Americans were sleeping, fuelling concerns over his mental agility.

In one particular instance, Trump threatened the safety of the whole civilisation. He declared that "a whole civilisation will die tonight" if Iran does not accept his demands.

He also posted an AI-generated picture of himself, which depicted him as a Jesus Christ-like figure with divine light emanating from his hands. Trump eventually pulled the picture down after backlash but defended himself by saying, "It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better," he claimed.

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