President Trump said Monday that he will leave the decision about releasing footage of a disputed military operation in the Caribbean to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking a shift from his comments last week.
During a press conference, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott asked Trump if he would order Hegseth to release video from a Sept. 2 strike in which the U.S. military carried out a second attack targeting two survivors of an initial hit on a suspected drug boat.
Trump pushed back on the idea that he had previously endorsed releasing the footage.
“I didn’t say that. You said that, I didn’t say that,” Trump responded. “Whatever Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.”
His answer differed from remarks he made last week, when he told reporters that “whatever they have, we’d certainly release, no problem.”
On Monday, however, he took a more hands-off approach, saying he would support whatever Hegseth decides, even as the Defense chief faces mounting scrutiny over the operation.
“Whatever he decides is OK with me,” Trump said. “Every boat we knock out of the water, every boat we save 25,000 American lives. That was a boat loaded up with drugs. I saw the video. They were trying to turn the boat back to where it could float. And we didn’t want to see that.”
Hegseth, speaking on Saturday, refused to promise that the video would be released. He said any decision about making footage public would require caution and that officials are still reviewing the matter.
Meanwhile, Politico reported Monday that some lawmakers are threatening to withhold a quarter of Hegseth’s travel budget unless he turns over the videos of the strikes to Congress.