Photo- President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
The leader of an Iranian unit that sought to assassinate President Trump was “hunted down and killed,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday.
The plot to target then-candidate Trump has fueled his ire toward Tehran, with him recently telling ABC News that the U.S. “got” Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “before he got me.”
Hegseth said that killing the leader was “not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination,” but “if we had the opportunity to get at those who are trying to get at Americans specifically, we would.”
The opportunity arose “from the air,” he said.
“Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh.”
What we know: One attendee was killed, two others wounded, and a bullet grazed Trump’s ear before a Secret Service counter sniper opened fire on the gunman and killed him. That day jolted an already chaotic race for the White House and solidified Trump’s iconic status in his party and beyond.
The gunman was identified as 20-year-old Michael Thomas Crooks
Axios
