At a public safety roundtable in Memphis, Tennessee on March 23, 2026, Trump publicly pinned the Iran war on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — with Hegseth seated right next to him.
Trump told the room: “Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. And you said, 'Let's do it.' You said, 'Let's do it because you can't let them have a nuclear weapon.'” The statement was a transparent attempt to distribute blame for a war that was spiraling in unpopularity.
The commander-in-chief — the person with sole constitutional authority to order military action — publicly credited his subordinate as the instigator. Jon Favreau of Pod Save America responded: “Hegseth about to give his next briefing from under the bus.”
The blame-shifting came as gas prices surged, ceasefire talks collapsed, and the administration faced mounting criticism for starting a war without congressional authorization. Trump, who has never in his career taken responsibility for a negative outcome, was already laying the groundwork to make someone else the fall guy.