'Childish' Donald Trump Mocked for 'Cowardly' Dodging Questions Surrounding Pete Hegseth's Signal Group Chat Scandal

President Donald Trump has faced severe backlash on social media over his "childish" defiance when questioned about his confidence in Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

During a recent interview with ABC News' Terry Moran in the Oval Office, Trump not only dodged a direct answer regarding Hegseth's competency but also labeled the line of questioning "stupid."

During their sit-down interview, Moran asked the president, "There’s a lot of turmoil at the Pentagon right now. There’s the Signal chat with his wife on it where he’s discussing that attack in Yemen. There’s another Signal chat — discussing the attack on Yemen. There’s a reporter accidentally involved. You said the other day that you had a talk with the secretary. Did you take him to the woodshed?"

Trump revealed he "had a talk" with Hegseth, but told the ABC reporter, "Whatever I said, I probably wouldn’t be inclined to tell you. But, uh, we had a good talk. He’s a talented guy. He’s young. He’s smart, highly educated. And I think he’s gonna be a very good defense — hopefully a great defense secretary – but he’ll be a very good defense secretary."

Moran followed up his question by asking the commander-in-chief, "You have a hundred percent confidence in Pete Hegseth?"

The GOP leader answered, "I don’t have a hundred percent confidence in anything, okay? Anything. Do I have a hundred percent? It’s a stupid question."

Several critics took to social media to mock Trump for acting like an "entitled child" throughout the interview and not taking the Signal chat issue seriously, despite the national security issues it raises.

One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared a clip of the ABC interview and wrote: "Always cowardly dodging accountability one way or another. Sounds Iike Hegseth's days are numbered to me. AND should be."

Another X user commented: "The buck will never stop with Trump. And it looks like Pete will be the first one to get tossed under the bus. He need not worry; in time, he'll have plenty of company with him under there."

A third person called Trump "unstable" and shared: "Sincerest thanks to Terry Moran and ABC for doing this hard-hitting interview holding the orange traitor's feet to the fire! Trump is such a clown."

The scrutiny surrounding Hegseth skyrocketed after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, revealed that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz accidentally added him to a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal, which featured top national security officials discussing strike plans against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

As the scandal unfolded, several reports have emerged targeting the head of the DoD, including claims that the Trump admin had a makeup studio installed at the Pentagon, while other elected officials demanded the former Fox News host resign amid allegations of improper use of Signal and dubious staffing decisions.

Hegseth, undeterred, has vehemently denied any misconduct and aggressively slammed his critics.