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Joe Scarborough Mocks Pete Hegseth’s 'Petulant' Attitude At Hearing With Savage New Term
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Joe Scarborough found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s behavior at a recent hearing obnoxiously familiar. Hegseth made his first appearance Wednesday in front of Congress since President Donald Trump’s administration went to war against Iran without congressional approval, and let’s just say the defense secretary got extremely defensive — especially when it came to answering Democrats’ questions. The hearing in front of the House Armed Services Committee that was meant to examine the administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion, quickly devolved into outbursts, finger-pointing and deflection tactics on Hegseth’s end. So, on Thursday’s episode of MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” host Scarborough couldn’t help but come up with a mocking new term for this specific brand of MAGA behavior — or what Scarborough called going “full Bondi.” Scarborough’s saying is a reference to former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s congressional crash-out in February during a hearing concerning the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. She was fired nearly two months later. “When you see this petulant display,” Scarborough said of Hegseth’s behavior in front of Congress, “I can say people would say, ‘Oh, Donald Trump likes it’ — I don’t know.” “He didn’t like it when Pam Bondi did it,” Scarborough continued. “And yesterday reminded me of Pam Bondi’s performance, the worst performance on Capitol Hill, I think, certainly, I’ve ever seen before the Armed Services Committee.” Scarborough also took issue with a very specific remark Hegseth made during the hearing. “The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth said to Congress. Said an incredulous Scarborough, “When you actually tell Republicans and Democrats that they are a greater adversary than the Revolutionary Guard, that they are a greater adversary than the mullahs, the ayatollahs in Iran, that they are a greater adversary than the government that has actually run a state that’s the epicenter of terrorism since 1979?” Scarborough went on to say that if Trump actually sent a “grown-up” to explain to Congress why the Defense Department needs such a massive wad of dough — and did it in a mature manner with a clear strategy — it could lead to a “safe Iran” and possibly sway Americans to be more tolerant of rising costs. But instead, Scarborough said, we got Hegseth, who “decided to go full Bondi.” “That was full Bondi,” co-host Mika Brzezinski echoed. “I think we all know this,” Scarborough said. “You never go full Bondi, right? You never go full Bondi. It never works. And he went full Bondi, man. You don’t go full Bondi.” By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.