Trump Nominating DeSantis as SecDef Would Be ‘Mind-Boggling,’ Says Maggie Haberman
CNN’s Maggie Haberman appeared puzzled at reports that President-elect Donald Trump is considering replacing Pete Hegseth with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the nominee for Secretary of Defense.
On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported on Trump’s mulling of DeSantis, who challenged Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.
The nomination of Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has been marred by an accusation of rape that he denies, as well as serial infidelity, and smelling of alcohol at work. The report that Trump was considering DeSantis surprised many, as the governor repeatedly attacked Trump on the campaign trail.
On Wednesday’s installment of The Source on CNN, Kaitlan Collins aired a clip of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), a staunch Trump ally, saying he does not know who Trump wants to lead the Pentagon.
“It’s not 100% clear to me who he wants as Secretary of Defense right now,” he said. Haberman offered her reaction.
“It would still be sort of mind-boggling if Ron DeSantis does get chosen and Trump does pull the rug out from under Hegseth because you will just hear a replay of all of these things that DeSantis said about Trump in their primary, including about Trump’s first indictment in Manhattan and the trial related to a hush money payment to a porn star,” she said. “Putting all of that aside, Trump is sending signals to these senators – again, ‘I’m not really committed on this until he starts really working the phones on this himself.’ It sort of leaves Hegseth dangling there.”
Collins replied, “The idea that he had a conversation with someone who was one of his fiercest critics about a year and a half ago is quite notable for this moment.”
“It’s the kind of thing Donald Trump loves, right?” Haberman responded. “He has told people that privately that it would be a big story if he brought in somebody who he had had this feud within a primary, but it would be a big story because he’s a conquest and he’s somebody who Trump not just beat but trounced in those primaries.”
Watch above via CNN.
