A Democratic congresswoman highlighted criticism of President Donald Trump from podcasters Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Candace Owens while questioning War Secretary Pete Hegseth during a fiery committee hearing on Wednesday.
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) asked Hegseth if he believes Trump “is mentally stable enough to be the commander-in-chief” and brought up a number of former Trump-supporting podcasters who are now questioning the president’s mental acuity.
“In fact, many, many Republicans have had the same questions,” Jacobs said. “Marjorie Taylor Greene said he’s out of control and he’s gone insane. Candace Owens said the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked — Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, who you used to work with, Alex Jones, Stephanie Grisham, the list could go on.”
Hegseth dismissed Jacobs’ question and ripped Democrats for raising questions on Trump’s ability to lead after the party turned a blind eye to issues around former President Joe Biden.
“Did you ask the same question of Joe Biden for four years?” Hegseth shot back. “You did not, and I won’t even engage with the level of disparagement that you’re putting on the commander-in-chief … he’s the sharpest and most insightful commander-in-chief we’ve had in generations. And you want to ask that question after you and your fellow Democrats defended Joe Biden, who could barely speak and didn’t know what day of the week it was. He governed with an autopen. You had a secretary of defense who went AWOL for a week.”
The heated exchange took place during a House Armed Services Committee hearing, where Hegseth and Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, faced questions about the ongoing war in Iran.
The war has enraged Democrats and podcasters who used to support Trump — like Carlson, Kelly, and Owens — who have ramped up their criticism of Trump in recent weeks. Carlson, who recently apologized for endorsing Trump in 2024, has repeatedly accused Trump of conducting the military operation in Iran at Israel’s bidding. He also claimed earlier this month that Trump was considering using a weapon of mass destruction “on the population of Iran.” Kelly has also claimed that Trump is being played by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said the president is “too weak” and “too gullible” to push back on Israel’s demands.
Owens, meanwhile, has called the Trump administration “satanic” and referred to Trump as a “Mad King,” while urging the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove the president from office.
Trump blasted the podcasters earlier this month, calling them “nut jobs,” “troublemakers,” and “stupid people.” The president also pointed out that the podcasters are being hailed by the Left for their opposition to his administration.
“These so-called ‘pundits’ are LOSERS, and they always will be! Now Fake News CNN, The Failing New York Times, and all of the other Radical Left ‘News’ Organizations, are ‘hailing’ them, and giving them ‘positive’ press for the first time in their lives,” Trump said. “They’re not ‘MAGA,’ they’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA.”
