President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday slammed The Wall Street Journal over an article claiming he was dealt a "setback" over Pete Hegseth, his nominee for Secretary of Defense, and Chad Chronister, who had been his initial pick to head the Drug Enforcement Agency.
"They haven't written a good story about me in YEARS," Trump posted on Truth Social. "Somebody over there ought to look at what they're doing."
The publication reported that Chronister, a county sheriff from Florida, decided he should pull himself out of contention as the "gravity of this very important responsibility set in."
Chronister had made the comment on his X page, adding that "There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling."
The sheriff was under fire from conservatives in connection with the arrest in 2020 of a pastor who held a large church service in defiance of COVID-19 restrictions.
The newspaper further reported that Hegseth has been in another round of meetings with GOP senators as the debate about his qualifications and allegations about his private life continue.
The Wall Street Journal, in a separate article, reported that Trump is considering replacing Hegseth with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as his nominee for Secretary of Defense, which Hegseth denied.
Trump, in response to the article claiming he was facing setbacks, said the newspaper is "becoming more and more obnoxious and unreadable."
He added that it was his decision to remove Chronister from consideration to head the DEA, not the other way around.
"I pulled him out, because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters," said Trump. "But, more importantly, what's my "latest" setback??? I just won the Presidency of the United States! They haven't written a good story about me in YEARS. Somebody over there ought to look at what they're doing. The only one worse than them is stupid, China-centric Forbes Magazine!"
He did not mention the controversy surrounding Hegseth in his post.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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