2026-03-31T10:00:56.018Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：扎卡里·科恩、克里斯汀·霍姆斯
发布于1小时59分钟前 | 2026年3月31日美国东部时间早上6:00
皮特·赫格斯瑟 唐纳德·特朗普 中东
2026年3月19日，国防部长皮特·赫格斯瑟在五角大楼举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话，此次发布会聚焦伊朗战事。
温·麦克纳米/盖蒂图片社
多位知情人士告诉CNN，在上个月美军首次对伊朗发动空袭之前，总统唐纳德·特朗普召集了一小批顾问商讨作战方案。他明确表示希望与以色列联手发起军事行动。
在那个行动前的关键时刻，以往的国防部长通常会向总统强调此举可能存在的诸多弊端。就伊朗空袭行动而言，这些风险包括如果德黑兰方面通过封锁霍尔木兹海峡进行报复，可能引发的经济后果，以及空中军事行动在摧毁伊朗高浓缩铀库存或推动政权更迭方面的局限性。
但据三位知情人士透露，国防部长皮特·赫格斯瑟不仅认可了总统推进行动的想法，还淡化了冲突失控的固有风险。在那场关键会议上，在场无人提及发动战争的潜在风险。
消息人士强调，赫格斯瑟并没有主动怂恿特朗普发动战争，但一旦确定总统的决定，赫格斯瑟便成为了这场战争最坚定的支持者之一。
“总统做出决定后，[赫格斯瑟]是其头号支持者，这也是他应尽的职责，”一位白宫高级官员告诉CNN，“他仍有责任确保行动取得成功。”
无论是在幕后还是在镜头前，赫格斯瑟对这场战争的执行都表现出了毫无保留的热情。据消息人士透露，特朗普与军方举行的会议中讨论的大部分军事规划和战略都来自参谋长联席会议主席丹·凯恩将军，赫格斯瑟则主要表达他对军事力量的信心。
特朗普委托赫格斯瑟向公众传达这一积极评价，他在一系列新闻发布会上作为美军行动的代言人之一，在记者面前摆出好斗姿态，并反复宣称军事行动取得了成功。他批评那些暗示军事行动出乎计划之外或提及行动代价的报道，甚至声称报道阵亡美军士兵的伤亡情况主要是为了“让总统难堪”。
战争打响一个月后，多位消息人士告诉CNN，赫格斯瑟在冲突期间最重要的角色，就是切实履行特朗普聘用他时的职责：成为五角大楼的代言人。
2026年3月2日，国防部长皮特·赫格斯瑟（左）与参谋长联席会议主席丹·凯恩将军在五角大楼共同发表讲话。
亚历克斯·王/盖蒂图片社
“如果CNN要写一篇关于赫格斯瑟部长是美军战力拉拉队队长的报道——那绝对没错。特朗普总统也同样为身为总司令感到自豪，”白宫新闻秘书卡洛琳·利夫特告诉CNN。
五角大楼未就本文的置评请求作出回应。
多位消息人士当时告诉CNN，特朗普选择赫格斯瑟担任国防部长，部分原因是他的外形和在电视上的表现能力。许多特朗普团队成员对这一决定感到意外，尤其是考虑到赫格斯瑟缺乏军事领导经验。
当特朗普决定发起作战行动时，白宫希望五角大楼作为政府的主要沟通渠道——这一决定部分基于赫格斯瑟作为前福克斯新闻主播的资历，以及他在为总统行动辩护时一贯的浮夸作风。另一位消息人士告诉CNN，赫格斯瑟在军事层面与凯恩一同深度参与，但在政策倡导方面的声音不如其他人响亮。
“总统希望皮特保持本色，也就是他好斗、爱国且直言不讳的性格，”一位白宫高级官员告诉CNN，“总统很欣赏他这一点，并希望他继续这样做。”
这位坚定忠诚的前电视主持人与凯恩一同出席一系列发布会，向美国民众介绍战争进展，这是战争最初四周的一贯场景。在这些发布会上，他抨击新闻媒体，宣扬美军在摧毁伊朗军事装备方面取得的进展，并提及自己的基督教信仰，甚至进行祈祷。
两人的风格截然不同：赫格斯瑟浮夸张扬，而凯恩则沉稳内敛。
“他们共同主持的发布会，我们认为这非常有助于传递舆论导向，让军事行动的相关信息得以传播，”一位白宫官员在谈到这些发布会时表示。
但最终，为这场冲突辩护变得愈发困难，据两位知情人士透露。
战争打响一个月后，美军的军事行动正处于关键的十字路口。据一位资深石油航运经纪人透露，伊朗已经有效封锁了霍尔木兹海峡，特朗普面临的时间窗口正在迅速缩小，全球能源市场即将达到“危机”级别。尽管面临美军大量人员伤亡的风险以及可能被拖入中东另一场长期战争的可能性，特朗普仍在考虑派遣地面部队，要么向伊朗政权施压，要么夺取伊朗的高浓缩铀库存。旨在结束军事行动的外交谈判似乎还处于初期阶段。
2026年2月28日，“德尔伯特·D·布莱克”号驱逐舰在一处未知地点发射战斧式巡航导弹。
美国海军/路透社
2026年3月3日，伊朗德黑兰遭遇空袭后，一名民众站在屋顶上。
阿塔·凯纳雷/法新社/盖蒂图片社
相对而言，作为伊朗战争的主要公众代言人，对赫格斯瑟而言是一件好事——多位消息人士此前告诉CNN，他有时曾被边缘化，沦为特朗普内阁的“边缘人物”。
冲突爆发以来，赫格斯瑟在五角大楼举行的新闻发布会次数超过了他整个任期内此前的总和，基本上完成了他被聘用时的工作：为特定观众表演。
这有助于提升赫格斯瑟的地位，因为在他的任期内曾出现多起自导自演的失误，例如他使用Signal通讯软件讨论作战计划，这给白宫带来了持续的麻烦，多位美国官员表示。
这些动荡加剧了多位消息人士所说的赫格斯瑟的转变：从一名坚定的外国战争批评者，转变为伊朗战争的推动者——这一转变在美军炸弹投向伊朗目标前的几周达到顶峰。
“他非常好战，”一位了解赫格斯瑟当前心态的消息人士告诉CNN，并补充说他认为“炸毁一切”是保住自己职位的最佳方式。
这位白宫高级官员驳斥了赫格斯瑟会担心自己工作的说法。
“总统对他非常满意，在伊朗局势出现之前就已经如此，”该消息人士表示。
特朗普本人也暗示，赫格斯瑟一直热衷于继续进行伊朗战争。
“你知道，有两个人对此相当失望，我不想这么说，但我确实有过这样的想法，”特朗普在3月24日椭圆形办公室的一次活动中表示，“我说，‘皮特和拉津将军[凯恩]，我认为这件事很快就能解决。’他们却说，‘哦，那太糟糕了，对吧？’皮特可不希望事情这么快解决。”
2026年3月26日，总统唐纳德·特朗普与国防部长皮特·赫格斯瑟在白宫举行的内阁会议上。
伊夫林·霍克斯坦/路透社
赫格斯瑟在媒体面前和与特朗普开会时表现出的自信风格，与他在国会山的表现截然不同。
在国会山关于战争的机密简报会上，赫格斯瑟大多没有偏离多位消息人士（包括共和党人和民主党人）所说的事先准备好的演讲稿。其他与赫格斯瑟一同向议员通报情况的高级政府官员——包括国务卿马可·卢比奥和中央情报局局长约翰·拉特克利夫——更直接地回答了议员们关于冲突以及政府意图和目标的问题。
在公开的新闻发布会上，赫格斯瑟大多以行动安全需要为由，拒绝讨论作战计划的细节，并回避了关于长期战略的问题。但他始终如一地传达着特朗普本人反复强调的信息：尽管媒体报道指出了潜在问题，但美军仍在取得成功。
“对于有爱国情怀的媒体人士来说，战时没有人能做到完美，”他在3月19日表示，“这座大楼[五角大楼]比任何人都清楚这一点，但请报道现实。我们正在按照我们的条件取得决定性胜利。”
Behind the scenes and in front of cameras, Hegseth serving as top cheerleader for military power in Iran war
2026-03-31T10:00:56.018Z / CNN
By Zachary Cohen, Kristen Holmes
1 hr 59 min ago
PUBLISHED Mar 31, 2026, 6:00 AM ET
Pete Hegseth Donald Trump The Middle East
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing, focused on the war in Iran, at the Pentagon on March 19, 2026.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
In the immediate lead-up to the first bombs being dropped on Iran last month, President Donald Trump met with a small group of advisers to discuss options. He made it clear that he wanted to launch a military campaign alongside Israel, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
It was at that moment, before an operation, that prior defense secretaries would typically stress to the president that there were potential downsides to such a move. In the case of Iran strikes, those would include the likely economic fallout should Tehran retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz and the limits of a military air campaign when it comes to destroying the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium or in fomenting regime change.
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth not only validated the president’s idea to move forward, he also downplayed the inherent risks of the conflict spiraling out of control, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Nobody in the room during that critical meeting emphasized the potential risks of starting the war.
Sources insisted that Hegseth didn’t push the war on Trump, but once it was clear what the president was going to decide, Hegseth served as one of the biggest cheerleaders.
“Once the president made the decision, [Hegseth] was the No. 1 supporter of it, as he should be,” one senior White House official told CNN. “He’s still responsible for making sure it’s a success.”
Both behind the scenes and in front of cameras Hegseth has been unerringly enthusiastic about the execution of the war. Most of the military planning and strategy discussed in meetings with Trump come from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, according to the sources, with Hegseth largely vocalizing his confidence in military might.
Trump has turned to Hegseth to carry that positive assessment to the public, serving as one of the faces of the campaign in a series of press briefings where the defense secretary has leaned into his combative posture with reporters while repeatedly declaring military successes. He’s criticized coverage that suggests anything has caught military planners by surprise or that has pointed to the costs of the campaign, going so far as to argue the coverage of service members killed in action was primarily for the purpose of making “the president look bad.”
One month into the war, multiple sources tell CNN that Hegseth’s most critical role during the conflict has been to effectively serve in the job that Trump hired him to do: be the face of the Pentagon.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, speaks alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine at the Pentagon on March 2, 2026.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
“If CNN is writing a story about Secretary Hegseth being a cheerleader for the US military — then absolutely yes. And President Trump is equally as proud to serve as commander in chief,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN.
The Pentagon did not reply to a request for comment for this story.
Trump chose Hegseth as secretary of defense in part because of his looks and his ability to comport himself on television, multiple sources told CNN at the time. Many people in Trump’s orbit were caught by surprise by his decision, particularly given Hegseth’s lack of experience in military leadership, the sources said.
When Trump decided to launch combat operations, the White House wanted the Pentagon to serve as the administration’s primary communicator — a decision based, in part, on Hegseth’s credentials as a former Fox News anchor and his typically bombastic demeanor while defending the president’s actions. Hegseth has remained very involved from a military perspective — along with Caine — but has been less vocal than others in advocating for policy, another source told CNN.
“The president wants Pete to be who he is, which is his combative, patriotic and outspoken nature,” a senior White House official told CNN. “The president appreciates that about him and wants him to keep doing that.”
The staunchly loyal former television host standing alongside Caine at a series of briefings, telling the story of the war to American taxpayers, was a consistent theme of the war’s first four weeks. During those briefings he has attacked press outlets, touted military progress in destroying Iran’s military hardware, and reference his Christian faith including offering prayer.
The two men have dramatically different styles; while Hegseth is bombastic, Caine is reserved.
“They’ve done those briefings together, which we felt have been very good for feeding the narrative and getting the facts out on military operations,” a White House official said of the briefings.
But ultimately, justifying the conflict has proved to be an increasingly difficult task, according to two sources familiar.
One month into the war, the US military campaign is at a critical crossroads. Iran has effectively shut off the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump faces a rapidly shrinking window before global energy markets reach a “crisis” level, according to a senior oil shipping broker. Trump continues to weigh the use of ground troops, either to pressure the Iranian regime or to take control of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, despite the risk of a large number of US casualties and the potential of drawing the US into another long-term war in the Middle East. Diplomatic talks to find an end to military operations appear to be in their infancy.
The USS Delbert D. Black fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile from an undisclosed location on February 28, 2026.
US Navy/Reuters
A person stands on the roof after a strike on Tehran, Iran, on March 3, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
Relatively speaking, acting as the primary public-facing messenger for a war with Iran has been a boon for Hegseth — who multiple sources previously told CNN had been relegated to the “back bench” of Trump’s Cabinet at times.
Since the start of the conflict, Hegseth has held more press briefings at the Pentagon than he had previously during his entire tenure, largely doing what he was hired for: performing for an audience of one.
It has helped bolster Hegseth’s standing, as his tenure has included several self-inflicted missteps, such as his use of Signal to discuss war plans, that have created persistent headaches for the White House, multiple US officials said.
That turmoil has contributed to what multiple sources described as Hegseth’s evolution from a staunch critic of foreign wars to promoter of the Iran campaign — peaking in the weeks before US bombs started falling on Iranian targets.
“He’s very trigger happy,” one source familiar with Hegseth’s current mindset told CNN, adding that he believes “blowing sh*t up” is the best way for him to keep his job.
The senior White House official pushed back on the notion that Hegseth would be concerned about his job.
“The president is very pleased with him, and was before the Iran situation,” the source said.
Trump himself has suggested that Hegseth has been keen on continuing the Iran war.
“You know, the only two people that were quite disappointed, I don’t want to say this, but I have,” Trump said during an event in the Oval Office on March 24. “I said, ‘Pete and Gen. Razin’ Caine, I think this thing’s going to be settled very soon.’ They go, ‘Oh, that’s too bad, right?’ Pete didn’t want it to be settled.”
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on March 26, 2026.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
The self-assured style that Hegseth has taken with the press and in meetings with Trump is different from how he’s approached lawmakers.
During classified briefings on Capitol Hill about the war, Hegseth has largely avoided deviating from what multiple sources, including Republicans and Democrats, described as a prepared script. Other top administration officials who have briefed lawmakers alongside Hegseth — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe — have more directly addressed questions from lawmakers about the conflict and the administration’s intentions and objectives.
In his public press briefings, Hegseth has largely declined to discuss details of war plans, citing operational security needs, and has dismissed questions about long-term strategy. But he has been consistent with delivering a message Trump himself has repeated about successes despite press coverage pointing to potential problems.
“To the patriotic members of the press, nobody can deliver perfection in wartime,” he said March 19. “This building knows that more than anyone, but report the reality. We’re winning decisively and on our terms.”
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