Diligently tackling the pressing matters of the current administration for President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, went down to Panama to talk business. According to the U.S. Embassy in Panama Hegseth gave the opening remarks at the 2025 Central American Security Conference. While that was a much more buttoned-up affair, it seems that Hegseth was also trying out some comedy material to entertain the troops. And he just so happened to give a spot-on impression of Trump that blew the controversial Trump impressions of comedian Shane Gillis out of the water.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth does a flawless President Trump impression of when he picked him for the role🤣:
pic.twitter.com/h4eqhSYPGQ— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 9, 2025
Hegseth can be heard saying, “the president gave me a very direct charge … when he chose me for this job … he said, ‘Pete.'” At this point, Hegseth is not only doing the voice, but also incorporating some Trump-inspired hand gestures and facial expressions. Continuing, Hegseth claims Trump told him “to be tough as s***,” which brought laughs from those in attendance. While this isn’t the shadiest thing Hegseth has ever done, it still is dipping a toe into dangerous territory. Trump is known for his famous catchphrase of “you’re fired,” and Hegseth is currently on pretty thin ice. Or, at least he should be, considering some recent events.
Pete Hegseth has had a rough start as defense secretary
After undergoing his dramatic transformation from military man to Fox News personality, Pete Hegseth set his sights on an even loftier institution than legacy media: the White House. Even with all the scandals continuously rocking Hegseth’s reputation, he still managed to clear his nomination to defense secretary within Donald Trump’s second administration. He brought his bold personality and many fashion pieces incorporating the American flag to the table and got to work. But it quickly got off to a rocky start.
In March, Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was accidentally looped into a group chat discussing plans of attack abroad. Doing what any good journalist does, Goldberg published his findings and the whole group chat got put on blast by the public (and a handful of their peers). While Hegseth was able to avoid much of the blowback regarding this incident, he’s not in the clear. Many are still confused as to how this all happened, and with rumors of Hegseth’s behavior at previous institutions he’s worked for, he could easily find himself in some hot water if he doesn’t shape up soon. So, perhaps doing an immaculate and bruising impression of his boss wasn’t quite the bright move. Unless, of course, Hegseth has decided he doesn’t want the job and is actually trying to get himself canned. Then he’s doing great!
