How Hegseth’s Pentagon tenure is shaping his possible political future

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has rarely shied away from controversy, but his latest spectacle — announcing that the convicted Fort Hood mass shooter’s execution would be livestreamed — proved a bridge too far even for President Donald Trump.

While Trump pulled the plug on the broadcast Thursday, the episode underscores the risks behind Hegseth’s increasingly provocative public persona — one that some of his closest advisers believe could carry him all the way to the White House, but which others caution could jeopardize his possible political future.

Hegseth’s push to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad initially surprised Trump, as CNN has previously reported. Two Trump advisers described the move as an attempt by Hegseth to play into the impulses of Trump and the MAGA base. But Trump’s eventual decision to backtrack on the idea amid bipartisan backlash was also viewed by some inside the administration as a blow to Hegseth — and a warning about the combative, made-for-TV image he has cultivated at the Pentagon.

Still, Hegseth’s push to livestream a public execution overlaps with his future political ambitions, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The livestream was “pure id,” one of the sources said, noting how it comports with Hegseth’s eye for theatrics as a former TV personality who believes he knows what resonates with the American public.

Conversations with more than a dozen current and former administration officials, Trump allies, Republican operatives and people familiar with Hegseth’s political orbit reveal a defense secretary who, while never holding elected office, is taking steps that could set up a political future. He has cultivated a macho public image, empowered a small group of media-savvy advisers and tested messages that appeal to the MAGA base — even as his record at the Pentagon and his appetite for controversy threaten to narrow his path.

As he’s sought to craft his “warrior” image, Hegseth has surrounded himself with former Fox News producers and social media personalities — chief among them his wife, Jennifer Hegseth. Sources said that group wields outsized influence within the shrinking circle of advisers he still trusts.

Many of those advisers have encouraged Hegseth to consider political office — including a possible presidential run in 2028, sources said. Their argument: The two main alternatives, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, may not run and face an uncertain path to the nomination. Hegseth, they believe, should keep his options open.

“A lot of them are all in,” said one administration official who supports Hegseth’s political ambitions. Many of those closest to Hegseth are focused on his political future in part because they see elected office as one of his few viable options after the Pentagon, the source added.

His closest advisers also argue that Hegseth has the “look” of a candidate and presents a stronger image than some of the other likely contenders to replace Trump. However, some also acknowledge the criticism his overhaul of the Pentagon has sparked, and that his consistently combative attitude toward those who question his views or policies present headwinds toward winning over the electorate.

Unlike Vance, who has served as the Republican Party fundraising chair this past year, and Rubio, a 2016 presidential contender, Hegseth also lacks deep connections to the donors needed to mount a White House bid. Meanwhile, a super PAC close to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz remains active as he publicly flirts with another presidential campaign.

Some Trump allies told CNN they believe Hegseth would entertain a 2028 presidential bid only if Vance decided not to run.

Vance has the inside track to get Trump’s support — choosing a potential successor was part of the calculus in selecting the Ohio senator as a running mate in 2024 — and Hegseth would face a steep climb without the president’s backing, sources added.

NBC News first reported on Hegseth’s private discussions about a possible 2028 run in August. At the time, Hegseth called the report “100% false.”

In response to CNN’s questions for this article, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement that “Secretary Hegseth is not running for president, and his only priority is leading the War Department.”

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell in a statement said that Hegseth had “not once” discussed any of what CNN was reporting. “As one of Secretary Hegseth’s senior advisors, I can attest that he spends every single day working to protect the nation and give our service members everything they need to be successful,” Parnell said.

While Hegseth’s image and blunt style have obvious appeal with a MAGA base that will be looking for a future home after Trump’s presidency, his oversight of the Iran war is a significant challenge. America’s latest military campaign in the Middle East is deeply unpopular with voters, and polls show it driving down support for both Trump and Republicans in the midterms.

Hegseth’s political activity — including traveling to Iowa earlier this year to rally for a GOP House candidate — has helped fuel speculation that he could someday run for office.

His political movements are watched with increasing interest in Tennessee, where his family moved several years ago, though GOP sources there say he has not taken steps in the state yet that might suggest he harbors political ambitions there.

“We’re very proud that he is serving us,” said Scott Golden, chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party. “And I would just say I hope he considers running for office at some point, at some level, whatever level he wants to do.”

The making of a ‘warrior’

Hegseth has focused much of his efforts at the Pentagon on crafting a particular public image for himself, based around the idea he is leading a charge to root out so-called “woke-ism” from the military.

At times referred to inside the Pentagon as the Secretary of Culture War, Hegseth’s priorities have included slashing the number of generals in the military, changing the Department of Defense to the “Department of War,” and even creating a screening program for “testosterone deficiency.”

“We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that? No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors,” Hegseth said at a September “State of the Force” speech. “The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in — with testosterone testing on top.”

In what is seen as an effort to manufacture the specific public image he wants, Hegseth has largely insulated himself from the press and often declines to answer questions on his decision-making. Press conferences held near the beginning of the war with Iran began on many occasions with Hegseth’s ranting against the press and reporters’ coverage of the conflict, which he found to be “incredibly unpatriotic.”

The Pentagon has also taken on a more political tone in some of its public messaging, particularly on X, where an official Defense Department Rapid Response account dedicates itself to sharing images of Hegseth and snippets of his speeches.

Several far-right social media personalities and accounts — including at least two active-duty Army officers— routinely and vigorously defend Hegseth’s decisions and attack his critics on X. (This despite strict regulations for how service members can conduct themselves online.) Several of the individuals are employed at the Pentagon and many in the building see the small group as an online army tasked with influencing public perception of Hegseth and his policies.

Hegseth has repeatedly insisted his overarching goal is to make the military more “lethal” by removing guardrails intended to prevent things like civilian casualties and by endorsing legally dubious combat operations — including some that have prompted allegations of war crimes.

Those moves have garnered criticism from officials both inside the Pentagon and elsewhere within the Trump administration. But they appear to have also helped Hegseth maintain the one relationship that matters most if he envisions some sort of political future for himself: the president.

While Trump has remained a steadfast defender of Hegseth, others close to the president — including some in the West Wing — are less enthusiastic, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Hegseth has been at the center of controversies even before the execution livestream, many of which the White House has brushed off, but some have left a lingering unease among White House officials and even some other Cabinet members.

One such issue is the Signal chat scandal, in which Hegseth shared specific operational details with senior administration officials in a Signal messaging app just hours before the US military carried out strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. His messages laid out exact timelines and target surveillance prior to the March 15, 2025, operation. Unbeknownst to Hegseth and the group, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was part of the chat.

The president’s then-national security adviser Mike Waltz took the brunt of Trump’s ire following the controversy, but many advisers thought at the time Hegseth should have faced stronger repercussions.

“These people have long memories,” one Trump adviser told CNN.

Hegseth’s eagerness to go to war with Iran and his removal of high-ranking military officials have also put him at odds with some senior advisers to the president.

In the immediate lead-up to the first bombs being dropped on Iran, Hegseth was one of the biggest cheerleaders for military intervention.

While the debate played out internally, Hegseth not only validated Trump’s idea to move forward, he downplayed the inherent risks of the conflict spiraling, CNN reported at the time — a reality that’s now come to fruition.

White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement that the White House and Pentagon “are fully aligned on ensuring justice is brought to evil traitor Nidal Malik Hasan who killed 13 innocent people.”

“Secretary Hegseth is doing a great job leading the Pentagon — and the results of Operations Epic Fury, Absolute Resolve and Midnight Hammer speak for themselves,” she said, referencing US military operations in Iran and Venezuela.

The episode over the Fort Hood shooter has resurfaced some of these frustrations over Hegseth’s movements. And, notably, it was Vance, whose own 2028 ambitions cast a shadow over all possible contenders, who was among the first to publicly express doubt about Hegseth’s plans to livestream an execution.

“I mean, look, if it’s all through live stream, I’m not going to be watching it,” Vance said.

In search of a political home

A turn to politics would not be new for Hegseth. Before joining Fox News, he ran for Senate in Minnesota in 2012, when he was leading a conservative veterans’ advocacy group.

An adviser for Hegeth’s Senate campaign told CNN that while Hegseth was a young candidate at 32 years old, he had natural talent on the campaign trail.

“Pete was great on the stump,” said the adviser, who requested anonymity to candidly discuss Hegseth’s Senate campaign. “He’s one of those people that when he’s talking to you, he’s talking to you. He has an amazing ability to do that. His eyes are focused on you.”

But Hegseth ultimately dropped out of the race after the Minnesota GOP convention that year, when he lost the party’s nomination to Kurt Bills, as a candidate who eschewed 2012 GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul’s libertarian-leaning ideology.

Hegseth now owns a home in Tennessee, a state much more amenable to Trump’s brand of politics.

Trump held a rally last weekend in Clarksville, Tennessee, where questions about Hegseth’s political future have at times become fodder for speculation for his post-Pentagon career. That speculation has intensified at times, like when Hegseth’s nomination was jeopardized by revelations about a past accusation of sexual assault — which Hegseth has repeatedly denied — and during early scrutiny of his uneven start as defense secretary.

But GOP officials there say Hegseth hasn’t made any moves that would suggest he’s eyeing a run for office there.

“I, for one, would love him to run for office at some point in the future. But honestly, there’s not been a lot of talk,” said state Rep. Aron Maberry of Clarksville, Tennessee. “But we love him. And we are excited that he’s in DC in the Department of War and a Tennessean.”

A senior GOP official in the state said that other than some rumors and intrigue, there was never any serious discussion about Hegseth potentially running for governor or senator back when his confirmation vote in the Senate was in jeopardy.

The official never got the sense that Hegseth or anyone close to him was lining up support from county chairs or that there was pressure coming from Washington to help him find a safe landing spot.

He could have the same challenge turning to Tennessee politics now, should he leave the Pentagon.

“His biggest challenge is, he’s a Minnesota guy, he’s a DC guy, he doesn’t have real Tennessee ties,” said Steve Gill, a conservative political commentator and editor and publisher of TriStar Daily, a digital media publication in Tennessee. “He has work to do if he wants to create that base of connections and support. I’m not seeing any indications yet that he’s doing that.”

At Trump’s Tennessee rally, Hegseth received mostly rave reviews from the MAGA faithful. Many attendees CNN spoke with had close ties to nearby Fort Campbell and approved of Hegseth’s military overhaul.

Kris Grempler is the owner of a school that teaches members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment how to drive armored vehicles. Speaking to CNN at Trump’s rally, he said that morale among service members is noticeably improved since Hegseth took over the Pentagon.

“I love him to death. You know, getting to see him like do PT and stuff with these guys still, like he’s just — he’s a guy’s guy. And these troops love that,” Grempler said.

Emily Vierra, 47, a teacher at a Department of Defense school at Fort Campbell, said she thinks Hegseth could have a future in politics. “I can see it 100%. I can see him doing it in a heartbeat,” she said. “He’s a great communicator, able to deliver and relay the message in a way that resonates with people.”

“I don’t think he needs to change a thing,” Vierra said as she waited for Trump to arrive in Clarksville. “I think he needs to be authentic and true to who he is.”

But there was also some skepticism at Trump’s Tennessee rally. Hunter Meade, a 22-year-old server from Nashville, said that Hegseth struck him as overly performative, pointing to the defense secretary’s appearance in Memphis during a National Guard deployment earlier this year. He also found the animated comedy series South Park’s recent portrayal of Hegseth as a social-media obsessed brute amusingly accurate.

So while Meade said he’d keep an open mind if Hegseth ran for office, he has his doubts. “Do I care for Pete Hegseth as a person or as a leader? Not particularly,” Meade said. “I think he’s more like for show.”

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