Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared a viral meme Sunday on social media of an iconic children’s book character blowing up narco terrorists.
In a Sunday evening post on X, formerly Twitter, Hegseth shared a fake book cover of Franklin, a popular children’s book character, appearing to fire a rocket-propelled grenade launcher at a narco terrorist boat. The title of the fake book cover read, “A Classic Franklin Story: Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists.”
In a caption to the meme, the secretary of war jokingly wrote, “For your Christmas wish list…”
Hegseth’s meme post was quickly met with backlash from some Democrats and Republicans on social media. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), shared the secretary of war’s post, tweeting, “You’re a disgrace.” Meanwhile, former Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) wrote, “There’s nothing Christian about war crimes.”
Fox News reported that Hegseth’s meme and the backlash on social media come as congressional lawmakers have confirmed that they will be launching inquiries into reports claiming that Hegseth ordered U.S. forces to kill any survivors during a strike against narco terrorists on September 2.
In a joint statement obtained by Fox News, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a ranking member of the committee, said, “We will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.” Fox News reported that leaders of the House Armed Services Committee also confirmed that they are pushing for a “full accounting” of the alleged incident.
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“We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and ranking Democrat Adam Smith (D-Wash.) stated.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported that unidentified individuals claimed Hegseth “gave a spoken directive” to “kill everybody” on a vessel believed to be transporting illegal drugs in the Caribbean Sea. The report claimed that a Joint Special Operations commander in charge of the mission “ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions” after two survivors were spotted in the water following the initial strike.
In a Friday statement on X, Hegseth appeared to respond to the report, saying, “As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.”
“As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,'” Hegseth added. “The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
