Did This Fox & Friends Diatribe From Pete Hegseth Lead to Trump’s Last Minute Scuttling of ‘Swamp Budget?’
Even for President Donald Trump, it was a pretty abrupt flip-flop.
A day after his budget director Mick Mulvaney went on record saying the president planned to sign the omnibus spending bill, the man himself said he’s now considering a veto in part because the proposed legislation, in his view, doesn’t allocate enough money for the southern border wall.
I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018
Did Fox & Friends help to change his mind?
At the top of Friday’s show, Pete Hegseth — filling in for Brian Kilmeade — laced into the bill.
“This is a swamp budget,” Hegseth said. “A [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell (R-KY) special. Democrats control the process. If [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are happy, the American people shouldn’t be.”
Savvy viewers on Twitter noted the connection between Hegseth’s rant and Trump’s reversal:
On Fox & Friends this morning, Pete Hegseth said of the omnibus, “this is a swamp budget, this is a Mitch McConnell special,” savaged it because “no wall.” pic.twitter.com/tTAIWj5til
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) March 23, 2018
Fox & Friends, the fourth branch of governmenthttps://t.co/PyGD92YYi8
— Sam Stein (@samstein) March 23, 2018
Pete Hegseth, no joke, is one of the most influential people living today https://t.co/fktl3Z626F
— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) March 23, 2018
White House source w simple potential explanation of Trump’s impulsive veto tweet threat: “He was probably watching the coverage on Fox & saw the criticism of the Omnibus.” Pete Hegseth, someone Trump listens to, was on Fox at top of 7 & said that there was nothing for the Wall.
— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) March 23, 2018
Pete Hegseth’s @foxandfriends rant that may have changed course of history:
“This is a swamp budget, Mitch McConnell special. Dems control the process. If Pelosi & Schumer are happy, the American people shouldn’t be. But this POTUS is laser focused on rebuilding our military.” pic.twitter.com/sabNk09efR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2018
Watch above and judge for yourself, via Fox News.
[featured image via screengrab]
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