President Donald Trump’s archnemesis, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, now has Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in his crosshairs.
Newsom is calling for Hegseth to take a drug test. It comes after Hegseth stunningly gaslighted reporters on Thursday over military families’ concerns about worsening conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The aircraft carrier has spent a grueling nine months deployed in the Persian Gulf. That’s a record-long deployment of more than 250 days since before Trump and Hegseth launched an unapproved and deadly war on Iran in late February.
Instead of addressing the issues surrounding such a long deployment, the former Fox News host brushed off reporters’ questions.
An animated and almost manic Hegseth told reporters that the media had “completely misrepresented” family members’ concerns.
Newsom wasn’t buying it and seemed even more concerned by Hegseth’s erratic behavior.
“He’s delusional, manic, agitated. Has Pete Hegseth done a drug test lately? Why are the results not public?” Newsom wrote in a post on X.
The governor made the comment above a clip of the defense chief interacting with reporters.
Hegseth may have tried to silence family members with his comments about misrepresentation, but he can’t silence social media.
The internet responded in spectacular fashion, lambasting Hegseth and agreeing with Newsom that he should take a drug test.
“Time for Pentagon Pete to go pay a visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln,” X user Kathy Morse suggested.
Others piled on.
“Same reason the IQ test results aren’t public; it’s not good!” another X commenter remarked.
Threads users joined in zeroing in on Hegseth’s “erratic” demeanor.
“GOOD IDEA. Gavin Newsom suggested Pete Hegseth should take a drug test after his ranting rebuttal of claims about horror conditions on a U.S. warship. I would throw in a breathalyzer test as well.”
“Dense, gym-lunk DUI Kegsbreath has always been hyper/manic but in that appearance, he was likely hopped up on something way stronger than just extra caffeine powder added to his energy drink.”
“Guy is coked out of his mind,” Threads poster Michael G stated.
Hegseth’s denials about the conditions aboard the Lincoln followed news reports of a sailor jumping overboard. The Pentagon confirmed the incident happened earlier this month and linked it to a mental health episode.
Rescuers pulled the sailor from the water and took him off the ship for further medical evaluation.
But shortly after Hegseth’s bizarre press conference, NBC News reported that the Pentagon finally plans to replace the Lincoln. It’s one of two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf supporting Trump’s war on Tehran. The USS George Washington is now preparing to take the Lincoln’s place.
