In a moment that would be laughable if it weren’t so disturbing, top Trump officials are now answering legitimate questions from the press with schoolyard-level insults — literally saying “your mom” when asked about matters of war, diplomacy, and public accountability.
According to HuffPost, the latest example came from the Pentagon. When a reporter asked why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wore a tie with the same red, white, and blue color pattern as the Russian flag during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell responded with a statement that read:
“Your mom bought it for him — and it’s a patriotic American tie, moron.”
That’s not a paraphrase or a leaked joke. That was the Pentagon’s official comment.
To be clear, this was a serious question. Russia’s state-controlled news agency, TASS, and a top Putin aide both publicly praised Hegseth’s tie. The optics of wearing a Russia-colored accessory in front of Zelenskyy — a wartime leader whose country is being shelled by Russian drones almost nightly — are not trivial. They’re diplomatically loaded.
Instead of explaining the decision, the Pentagon sent a prewritten insult.
And when HuffPost pressed further — asking whether Hegseth was aware of the U.S. Flag Code, which prohibits using the American flag for clothing — the Pentagon doubled down. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson answered with this:
“If loving one’s country enough to represent it head to toe is a crime in the eyes of the leftist blog known as HuffPost, then consider Secretary Hegseth guilty. He is a patriot who reveres this country and our flag.”
Meanwhile, over at the White House, things weren’t any more mature.
When reporters questioned why Donald Trump selected Budapest for his upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin — a city deeply symbolic due to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, where Russia promised to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for nuclear disarmament — they were again met with juvenile mockery.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded with:
“Your mom did.”
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung followed up a minute later with:
“Your mom.”
Let that sink in: White House officials answering questions about a summit with a dictator actively waging war on Europe — with “your mom” jokes.
And when HuffPost asked Leavitt if she actually believed that was a professional response, she escalated:
“It’s funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal [sic]. You are a far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media, they just don’t tell you that to your face. Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bullshit questions.”
This is the team representing the president of the United States. This is how they talk about war, foreign policy, and journalists trying to hold them accountable.
At a time when Russia continues to bomb civilian homes in Ukraine, when Trump is preparing another meeting with Putin — this time on friendly turf — and when public trust in government transparency is already eroding, these are the official answers being given: “your mom.”
Not explanations. Not denials. Just mockery.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They reflect a growing contempt for the role of the press and the public’s right to understand what their leaders are doing — especially when it involves foreign influence, war, and diplomatic stagecraft. Dodging questions with insults isn’t just immature. It’s dangerous.
Because when those in power can’t — or won’t — explain themselves, and instead resort to schoolyard taunts, they’re not just evading scrutiny. They’re telling you exactly how little they think you deserve to know.
