Exerting Their Will

0:00April 4, 2026. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General Randy George, in a struggle to exert his will over the career officers in the service. On Friday at 8.15 pm, the official social media account of the joint staff, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and the vice chairman, appeared to express their opinion of the firing when they posted. On behalf of the joint force and the joint chiefs, we extend our deepest gratitude to chief of staff of the Army General Randy George for his decades of steadfast service to our nation. Since 1988, General George and his family have consistently answered the nation's call with honor and dedication. We are profoundly thankful to General George and his wife Patti for their many years of

1:04sacrifice and devotion to those who serve. As they graduate from this distinguished chapter of service and look forward to the future, we wish them both continued happiness and success in all that lies ahead. On Friday, Iranian shot down a U.S. F-15E fighter jet over Iran. U.S. forces quickly rescued the pilot of the jet, but the second crew member, a weapons systems officer, was not rescued until late today, with the news breaking just minutes before midnight. Iranians also hit a U.S. A-10 Warthog aircraft, a ground attack plane designed for close support of ground troops as it was engaging in the search. This pilot ejected and was rescued. A helicopter also engaged in search and rescue was hit by small arms fire that injured crew members, but it landed safely outside Iran.

2:05The strikes came two days after Trump told the American people that the U.S. military had beaten and completely decimated Iran that they have no anti-aircraft equipment and that their radar is 100 percent annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force. Meanwhile, Iranian TV should people headed into the mountains to find the airmen. Dan Delus, Courtney Kubay, and Gordon Lubold of NBC News identified the last time an airplane was shot down by enemy fire as 2003, with a crash near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. The pilot ejected safely and was rescued. The social media accounts of the Defense Secretary and a U.S. Central Command went silent after Thursday night. Trump did not speak to the public about the missing airmen. When the White House wants to tell the press there will be no more public information

3:05released that day, it calls a LID, so journalists will stop waiting for news. The White House called the LID yesterday at 4.12 pm, and the president did not go to Mar-a-Lago as he has been in the habit of doing on the weekends. Trump did not appear at all today, and the White House called the LID at 11.08 am. But Trump did post on social media. Yesterday, while the search for the airman was underway, his account posted, with a little more time, we can easily open the Hormuz Strait, take the oil, and make a fortune. It would be a gusher for the world. President Donald J. Trump. At 10.05 this morning, Trump posted, remember when I gave Iran 10 days to make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait? Time is running out, 48 hours before all hell will rain down on them. Glory be to God, President Donald J. Trump.

4:08Economist Paul Krugman noted today that this post didn't sound like Trump. His speech on Wednesday was low energy and delivered in a monotone. Its suggested Trump was abandoning the idea of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and handing off the problem to other countries. Now he is threatening to rain down all hell on Iran to get it to restore the conditions that existed before he attacked. And then, as Krugman noted, he added, Glory be to God, which sounds a lot more like Hegsitz, Christian holy war language than Trumps. Krugman says, it sounds like he's going to try and do something truly awful in an attempt to somehow redeem himself and the situation in Iran. Michael R. Gordon, an Alexander Ward of the Wall Street Journal, reported today that Trump's aides have been telling him Iran's civilian infrastructure is a legitimate war

5:09time target, despite the understanding among experts that such attacks are illegal. The journalists say Hegsitz has embraced the aides argument that attacking infrastructure would make it more difficult for Iran to transfer the materials they need to develop nuclear weapons. A White House official added that destroying electric plants could foment civil unrest, which would in turn make it more difficult to produce a nuclear weapon. Ryan Goodman of Just Security commented, that would be an F on a bar exam. He observed, this isn't legal analysis, it's idiocy. Reuters reported today that Israel is prepared to attack Iranian energy facilities, but is waiting for the U.S. to agree. Tonight the White House released the President's schedule for tomorrow, Easter Sunday. It has a scheduled 8 o'clock AM executive time and a 7 o'clock PM family Easter dinner.

6:14He has no scheduled public appearances. Reuters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson. It was produced at Soundscape Productions, Data Massachusetts, recorded with music composed by Michael Moss.