EXCERPT:
HEGSETH: “Yeah. I mean, it’s the Trump bump. It’s the commander-in-chief first and foremost. He’s got the backs of our war fighters and they know it. And so, the young men and women of America are prepared to stand up. Look at those numbers. They’re historic over multiple decades. And I get to see them out, you know, whether it’s Panama City, whether it’s in Guam, or Japan, or the Philippines, or on bases here in the U.S. or out in Germany and Poland. You look into the eyes of these young Americans who are giving up the best years of their life in a uniform to serve their nation, they are incredible. And those best moments are in the morning. You know, it’s still not quite light out. We’re out in formation doing PT. You get to hear the real story. You get to thanks them for what they do, you find out where they’re from, and they know that I have been in their place not that long ago and that I want to have, just like the president, their best interest in mind that we’re going to have their back.”