Four weeks into a war that has shaken his support, driven up gas prices, and stirred global tension, Donald Trump went to Memphis to talk about crime. But the moment everyone noticed had nothing to do with crime.
It was about who started the war.
At a roundtable, Trump turned to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up,” he said. “You said, ‘Let’s do it,’ because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
BREAKING: TRUMP BLAMES PETE HEGSETH FOR THE IRAN WAR:
“Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. You said, ‘Let’s do it.'”
pic.twitter.com/W1rwWD8NaO— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) March 23, 2026
Hegseth said nothing. His silence spoke for him.
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Online, people spotted the pattern instantly. Trump takes credit when things go well. When it gets messy, someone else becomes the story.
Passing blame already? When things escalate like this, everyone wants to rewrite who said what first instead of taking responsibility for the outcome. Leadership should be about owning decisions, not shifting them
— Mr. Pulse (@urbanpulseca) March 23, 2026
first he said iran was already defeated then he said lets strike them now hes blaming pete
man just cant stick to one story
— Storm Chaser 🌪️ (@velvetstormseas) March 23, 2026
I think DJT just unraveled to the rest of us who didn’t know much about him
— Ifiok Davids (@Whyiize1) March 23, 2026
This is why he has lost my support completely. He cannot and will not take responsibility for any shortcomings. He is quick to take credit for anything even others achievements. Not a true leader
— Just the facts (@thomaswasfree) March 23, 2026
To be fair, Hegseth has not hidden where he stands. He has been front and center defending the war, taking questions, and pushing back on critics. He even framed it in personal terms, saying: “They died for you, son. So your generation doesn’t have to live with a nuclear Iran.”
There is no confusion about his position. But being singled out as the first voice pushing for action puts him in a different spotlight.
The setting made it even more noticeable. Trump was supposed to be talking about local safety and crime. His own team has been urging him to stay focused on everyday issues. But the war keeps pulling attention away.
And so do the consequences.
Gas prices are rising fast. That hits people directly, no matter where they stand politically. Even those doing okay financially are starting to feel it. One visitor in Memphis said it plainly: “We’re in a war that we know nothing about, and we really do make a decent salary, but gas is getting too expensive for us.”
That kind of frustration builds quickly.
Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen made his view clear. He called the visit “a publicity stunt” and pointed back to the bigger picture. “He has a war in Iran, he’s got gas prices up 80 cents a gallon since the war started. Grocery prices and affordability issues are what he needs to be dealing with.”
Lost in all of this was the actual topic of the trip. Crime in Memphis has dropped sharply, with thousands of arrests and a large number of illegal firearms taken off the streets. Those results should have been the headline. They were not.
Earlier in the day, Trump added another layer. Before boarding his flight, he told reporters he had asked the Pentagon to hold off on strikes against Iranian power plants for five days. “They want peace. They’ve agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Featured image via X screengrab
