Trump Accuses WaPo of Treason as He Lashes Out Over Pete Hegseth Report: ‘False and Completely Unfounded Rumors!’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks as President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump upped his criticism of The Washington Post all the way to a treason accusation after initially blasting the paper over a report suggesting he blew up on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

In a Thursday afternoon post to Truth Social, Trump dismissed the Post’s story as “false” and “unfounded” and he praised Hegseth’s work in the administration. He wrapped up his criticisms by saying he believes the Post’s “fake” reporting is “treasonous.”

The president wrote:

The Fake News, as usual, is spreading false and completely unfounded rumors. I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing. Everything has been extraordinary, including our attack on Venezuela, where the result was accomplished in less than one day, allowing us to bring one of the worst criminals anywhere in the World, Nicolas Maduro, to Justice! Likewise, Iran, where the country has been decimated for the purpose of NOT ALLOWING IT TO EVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, is going very well! Pete is highly respected within the Military, and has made tremendous improvements, including getting rid of DEI, and increasing recruitment to historic levels. This rumor was started by The Washington ComPost, one of the worst Media Outlets in the business, despite our telling them their story is completely FALSE. In actuality, I really believe their fake “reporting” is treasonous!

Trump had already lashed out about the Hegseth report in a Thursday morning post to Truth Social where vowed to punish “leakers” speaking to the media. In that post, Trump did not as adamently deny the story and instead promised “long jail sentences” for leakers making “treasonous” statements.

“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!” he wrote.

According to the Post, which cited two people familiar with the situation, Trump blew up on Hegseth at Camp David last week over munitions supplies, demanding to know “why he had apparently been misled on extreme munitions shortages that now threaten to limit military options with Iran.”

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