Trump says he believes Hegseth '100%' on Venezuelan drug boat strike denial amid allegations

Trump repeatedly said Hegseth denied giving such an order. He added that he was aware of the allegation but stressed that Hegseth told him the claim was untrue and that he accepted that explanation without hesitation.

"He said he did not say that, and I believe him 100%," Trump said.

Reporters asked Trump whether he would have approved a second strike if Hegseth had ordered one, prompting him to again distance himself from the allegation while stressing that he trusted his secretary of War.

Trump said he planned to seek additional information about the reported incident but reiterated that Hegseth assured him nothing improper happened.

"No, I wouldn't have wanted that. Not a second strike," Trump said.

Trump argued the vessels posed a deadly threat and framed the operations as necessary to protect Americans, calling the missions lethal but justified.

"You can see the boats," he said. "You can see the drugs in the boats and each boat is responsible for killing 25,000 Americans."

According to The Washington Post, the commander overseeing that operation told colleagues on a secure conference call that the survivors were legitimate targets because they could still contact other traffickers for help and ordered the second strike to comply with what he said was a directive from Hegseth that everyone must be killed.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.