President Donald Trump speaks next to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
One of Donald Trump's top Cabinet allies is striving to portray himself as a "tough guy" as he builds his 2028 ambitions, but according to the president's one-time biographer, he is actually a "doormat" doing his best job as a lackey in order to keep his job.
Michael Wolff is a longtime reporter and author, best known for his extensive coverage of Trump's political career, penning several books about his chaotic first term. In the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," Wolff and co-host Joanna Coles discussed the evolving situation around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Coles mentioned emerging rumors that Hegseth might be fired after the midterms if the GOP does poorly, with Wolff noting that he has found himself "at the center of the worst crisis of the many crises of the Trump administration," referring to the Iran war.
"He's the point person for an enormous part of the world's pain right now," Wolff said.
Wolff added later, echoing his past claims, that Hegseth will "certainly" be running for president in 2028, using his time as defense secretary as a jumping-off point.
"That very well could make him someone who is attractive to the Trump base, which, you know, certainly is capable of getting someone elected," he added.
In reality, he noted, Hegseth's main "credential" for Trump was being a "suck-up," who would be "willing to do" what Trump asked of him, all of which pulls the rug out from under his efforts to project a "tough guy" image.
"But what [he] really [is] is a doormat, is a weak guy," Wolff said. "I mean, this is a guy who is willing to accept all manner of humiliation before Donald Trump."
Wolff also argued that launching a bid for president is likely "what he has to do at this point."
"First thing, he has to try to protect his current job," Wolff explained further. "But even if he can't protect this current job, or can't continue to hold this current job, he kind of steps over that by then declaring his run for president, raising an enormous amount of money. I'm sure that he actually has a money base that he's put together, as he has been running the Department of Defense and he, you know, he's in business. He's put himself into business as a person of high political standing in the Republican Party."