White House justification for 2nd strike on drug boat apparently at odds with Trump’s – ABC News

White House justification for 2nd strike on drug boat apparently at odds with Trump’s

Asked about the second strike, Trump said “I wouldn’t have wanted that.”

By Megan Forrester, December 1, 2025, 6:28 PM, 2:26

White House defends 2nd strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat

White House defends 2nd strike on alleged drug-smuggling boatThe White House is defending a U.S. admiral’s decision to launch strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessel in September, saying he had Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s authorization.

Editor’s Note: A prior version of this story incorrectly attributed quotes from a reporter’s question to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said she “would reject” the notion that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ever said that “everyone be killed.” ABC News regrets the error and the story has been updated.

The White House’s account of whether the U.S. military should have conducted a second strike on a drug boat that had already been hit and killed survivors appears to be at odds with what the president said about the incident a day earlier.

When asked about reports that the U.S. military killed survivors of a Sept. 2 strike on a boat suspected of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said narcoterrorists were subject to “lethal targeting in accordance with the law of war” and that the second strike was warranted “to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.”

However, when asked about a Washington Post report that alleged that Hegseth ordered military commanders to kill everybody on board the boat, Trump said on Sunday he would not have wanted a second strike and that he believed Hegseth did not use those words.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Trump said when asked about the report. “[Hegseth] said, he said, he did not say that. And I believe him,” Trump said. “But no, I wouldn’t have wanted that. Not a second strike. The first strike was very lethal. It was fine, and if there were two people around, but Pete said that didn’t happen. I have great confidence.”

Hegseth responds to report that boat survivors were killed as a result of his orders to military

According to The Post, Hegseth allegedly gave a spoken order ahead of the Sept. 2 operation to kill everybody aboard the suspected drug boat. After an initial strike left two survivors, Adm. Mitch Bradley, who was in charge of the operation, complied with Hegseth’s alleged order by ordering a second strike, according to the report.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: White House justification for 2nd strike on drug boat apparently at odds with Trump’s – ABC News

#ABC #ABCNews #AdmiralMitchBradley #DepartmentOfDefense #DrugBoat #Hegseth #Justification #PeteHegseth #SecondStrike #Trump #TrumpSJustification #Venezuela #WhiteHouse

Episode of ABC TV's Foreign Correspondent from 2005 about Taiwan and President Chen Shui-bian. Although it was only 20 years ago it seems like another era

https://youtu.be/qTtbiitHUW0?si=_XLdMQ_nwTmR33LT

#Taiwan #ABCnews #台灣

#Cape#Town, #SouthAfrica: #News24 | No royal refund: #UK’s Andrew likely to le https://kensbookinfo.blogspot.com/p/world-capitals.html#CapeTown

The42: James O'Callaghan named new Shamrock Rovers #Women’ https://kensbookinfo.blogspot.com/p/ireland.html#The42

#TheDailyRecord: Another gold medal for #Hamilton boccia legend Step https://kensbookinfo.blogspot.com/p/uk.html#10

#YOUTUBE #ABCNEWS: #US and #Russia talks didn’t reach compromise about Ukrai https://kensbookinfo.blogspot.com/p/youtube.html#46

#Michigan: Flint #Cultural Center transforms into winter wonde https://kensbookinfo.blogspot.com/p/etc-states.html#22

Rebekah Peppler gives a glimpse into new cookbook and shares 3 modern French recipes

French cooking and living has a certain je ne sais quoi. However, true to form Rebekah Peppler has beautifully translated the country’s often indescribable effortle…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Frenchrecipes #abcnews #francais #france #French #frenchfoodrecipes #frenchrecipes #Recipes
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2410131/rebekah-peppler-gives-a-glimpse-into-new-cookbook-and-shares-3-modern-french-recipes/

ABC News Taps Hanna Battah As Correspondent & Overnight Anchor ‘World News Now’ & ‘Good Morning America First Look’
#News #ABCNews #GoodMorningAmericaFirstLook #HannaBattah #WorldNewsNow

https://deadline.com/2025/12/abc-news-hanna-battah-anchor-overnight-world-news-now-1236632268/

"good by", is that really what they said? "good by"?

#AusNews #ABCNews

I swear the BoM staff have a bet going to see how big Dean Narramore's hair can get on TV before someone says something

This morning it was really something special

#sydney #abcnews #australia #bom

(photo from a couple of days ago)