From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz were pictured midweek swinging from trees and testing ice baths in new images that have been slammed online amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Both men can be seen wearing summer clothing in the beachside photographs, with Oz even wearing chino shorts and loafers.
Hegseth can be seen wearing flip flops and a baseball hat in the photographs, which were uploaded yesterday and also included a Mediterranean-style feast.
Another image showed both men with their hands in an ice bath, beaming at the camera.
“Secretary @PeteHegseth visited us for a beachside brunch — he can turn a leisurely afternoon into a MAHA extravaganza with tree pull-ups, a cold plunge, and a Mediterranean feast!” Mehmet wrote in the caption to the pictures.
open image in gallery
Pete Hegseth and Dr Mehmet Oz were seen swinging from trees and testing out an ice bath in new images, which have been slammed online (Dr Mehmet Oz)
The images, though, have been poorly received by some of the Trump administration’s most prominent critics.
Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger took to X to offer up his short but biting reply.
“Shouldn’t he be doing war stuff?” he wrote.
California Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove also took a swipe at the pair on X, suggesting that neither man was at work.
“I’d tell you to get to work because it’s Wednesday, but neither of you should have your jobs,” she blasted.
Others pointed to the growing threat of war between Iran and the United States, a situation that Hegseth would oversee as secretary of defense. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened military action against the Middle Eastern country, which is grappling with waves of civil unrest and protest.
“As responsible Americans, spare a thought for the troops deployed around the world, including those potentially preparing for a Trump-Hegseth war against Iran,” journalist Barbara Starr lamented.
The ONSIT defender, a prominent social media account dedicated to covering conflicts around the world, offered a similar, scathing critique of the post.
open image in gallery
(AP)
“While the United States prepares for possibly its largest and most complex conflict since the Invasion of Iraq in 2003, involving the deployment of thousands of Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, and other Servicemembers from their homes, to locations across Europe and the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spent a day this weekend hanging from trees and doing cold plunges with the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz,” the account wrote.
Neither Secretary Hegseth nor Dr. Oz has publicly commented on the criticism of the post.
Hegseth, though, has faced widespread criticism throughout his tenure as Defense Secretary.
An analyst told The Atlantic that the former Fox & Friends host spent his time dealing with issues “well below his pay grade” at the Pentagon.
“The secretary of defense is spending his time doing things that those well below his pay grade should be doing. And he is not doing the things that only the secretary of defense can do,” Kori Schake, the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, said.
open image in gallery
Dr Mehmet Oz said that Hegseth transformed his visit into a ‘MAHA extravaganza’ (REUTERS)
Last year, Hegseth was accused of committing a “war crime” after the “double tap” controversy following a military strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat.
Hegseth reportedly gave instructions for the military to “kill everybody” aboard the boat, which led to the survivors of the initial blast being bombed once again.
The former Fox News host has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
The Independent has contacted the DOD and the CMS for comment.