MAGA Takes Victory Lap After Hegseth Manages Not to Leak Plans to Bomb Iran
With the defense secretary’s track record on infosec, even his supporters are astounded he managed to keep the lid on this one.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
MAGA breathed a sigh of relief after Donald Trump pulled off an offensive against Iran without his defense secretary betraying his plans.
“GREAT JOB, [Secretary Pete] Hegseth!” one conservative user posted to X, along with a Fox News clip of a network reporter saying: “There were no leaks. Nobody speaking about this. A complete blackout on information about Iran at the Pentagon for the last few days.”
“Not a single leak,” another pro-MAGA voice chipped in. “Now MSM, Dems Libs & RINO’s [sic] will be going bonkers calming [sic] he will get us in another war. Kudos CIC, Pete Hegseth & U.S. military & thanks.”

MAGA appears to be overjoyed by the fact no sensitive data on the Iran strikes was leaked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Getty Images
Trump launched bomb attacks Saturday on three nuclear facilities in Iran, dragging the U.S. deep into its fifth active military engagement in the Middle East despite campaign promises last year to end the nation’s “forever wars” abroad.
Trump launched the strikes Saturday, marking one of the most significant U.S. offensives against Iran since the Islamic Republic's founding in 1979.
The White House/Handout via Reuters
The president claimed Iran was only “a couple of weeks” away from nuclear strike capabilities, defying intel from his own officials suggesting the country was not developing nuclear weapons and that even if it were, building a bomb would take at least three years.

Hegseth featured prominently in the Signalgate scandal, which saw him discuss sensitive details of airstrikes in Yemen with J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, among others, via a Signal group chat.
Carlos Barria/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Hegseth doesn’t appear to have played a critical role in Trump’s decision to join Israeli military strikes against Iran, which began last week. The Washington Post reported Friday that the president had instead “turned to a small group of lower-key but more experienced aides,” citing White House sources.
🚨 FOX PENTAGON REPORTER: "In my 18 years at the Pentagon, I've never seen such operational security.
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 22, 2025
There were NO LEAKS. NOBODY speaking about this. A complete blackout on information about Iran at the Pentagon for the last few days."
GREAT JOB, @SecDef Hegseth! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/AnDZ1i8uLz
It follows after the Defense Secretary was implicated in an embarrassing series of breaches, notably the “Signalgate” scandal that saw The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg added to a group chat where Hegseth discussed airstrikes in Yemen with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among other members of Trump’s cabinet.
Not a single leak. Re: Iran nuke site strikes. No boots on the ground, no regime change. Just Trump keeping his word & a campaign promise. Now MSM, Dems Libs & RINO's will be going bonkers calming he will get us in another war. Kudos CIC, Pete Hegseth & U.S. military & thanks.
— Glenn York (@glennyork) June 22, 2025
Some X users on Sunday offered a more tongue-in-cheek assessment of his role in the weekend’s strikes. “We bombed Iran and Pete Hegseth didn’t leak it in a group chat first?” one person wrote.
“BREAKING! Hegseth’s Phone Confiscated Before Iran Strike–Nation Celebrates First Mission Without a Signal Leak,” another account said. “Turns out all we needed was Airplane Mode and duct tape.”
Others assumed a dimmer view of what his track record suggests of concern for informational security at the White House. “Celebrating the occasions when there are NO leaks during an attack says a lot about the competency of this administration,” as one user put it.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Hegseth’s representatives for response.
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