'They have no leader': Trump views opposition with 'pity' as chaos plagues the Pentagon

28 April

President Donald Trump during a White House press conference on February 4, 2025 (Noamgalai/Shutterstock.com)

Three months into Donald Trump's second presidency, journalists Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer covered a lot of ground with him during a late April interview for The Atlantic — from foreign policy to immigration.

The reporters also addressed embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose critics are calling for him to resign over a series of controversies — which include firings at the Pentagon and a security breach in which Hegseth discussed a military operation in Yemen on the messaging app Signal.

Trump not only defended Hegseth during the interview — he also made it sound like Democrats, not members of his administration, are the ones surrounded by chaos.

Trump said of Hegseth, "I think he's gonna get it together. I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him."

Trump said he told his staff, "Maybe don't use Signal, OK?"

According to Parker and Michael Scherer, Trump "spoke of his opposition with earnest befuddlement, if not actual pity."

Trump told the reporters, "I think that the Democrats have lost their confidence in the truest sense. I don' think they know what they're doing. I think they have no leader. You know, if you ask me now, I know a lot about the Democrat Party, right? I can't tell you who their leader is. I can't tell you that I see anybody on the horizon."

Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer's full interview with President Donald Trump for The Atlantic is available at this link (subscription required).

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