The veneer of control at the Trump White House is rapidly cracking, and if the latest reports are any indication, the damage control team is out of options. In a scathing new breakdown, political commentator Jack Cocchiarella dissects the mounting scandals engulfing the administration, revealing a chaotic scene where Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is “collapsing,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is battling “war crime” allegations, and President Trump is caught in a web of evasive non-answers.

The “Collapse” of Karoline Leavitt

Being the mouthpiece for a controversial administration is never easy, but for Karoline Leavitt, the job has reportedly become a nightmare. Cocchiarella argues that Leavitt’s recent behavior signals a “complete collapse” as she struggles to defend the indefensible.

Tasked with spinning the narrative around Pete Hegseth’s controversial military strikes—which critics, including members of Congress, are labeling as “war crimes”—Leavitt has seemingly abandoned traditional PR strategies in favor of lashing out. Her recent social media tirades, which accuse liberals of siding with “bloodthirsty narco-terrorists,” are described not as strength, but as desperate deflection.

“These lies in recent weeks… seem to be doing the opposite of what Karoline Leavitt wants,” Cocchiarella notes. Instead of silencing the critics, her frantic defense is only drawing more spotlights to the administration’s alleged corruption and cover-ups.

Hegseth vs. Hegseth: The Hypocrisy Tape

Perhaps the most damaging blow to the administration’s credibility comes from Pete Hegseth himself—or rather, the ghost of his past. A resurfaced video from 2016 features Hegseth passionately arguing that there must be consequences for “abject war crimes” and “ruthless” unlawful acts.

“That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders,” the 2016 version of Hegseth stated.

Fast forward to 2025, and Hegseth is now the one accused of ordering strikes on survivors of a disabled boat, an act Senator Mark Kelly calls a clear violation of the very ethos Hegseth once defended.

“What has changed?” Kelly asked in a featured clip. “It’s pretty obvious… we have an unqualified Secretary of Defense who only cares about sucking up to this President.”

The contrast is stark: The man who once demanded accountability is now hiding behind the “fog of war,” a defense that critics are tearing to shreds.

The “Fog of War” or “Government Propaganda”?

The administration’s primary defense for the second boat strike—where survivors were allegedly killed—is that the “fog of war” made it impossible to see who was left alive. Congressman Jamie Raskin, however, isn’t buying it.

In a blistering critique, Raskin dismissed the “fog of war” excuse as nothing more than “government propaganda.” He argued that since Congress never declared war on drug cartels, the military operation itself is legally dubious, making the killing of survivors “murder” rather than combat.

“War is not a metaphor in legal terms,” Raskin explained. “You can’t say ‘Well, there’s a war on poverty… so we’re going to just start killing people.’”

Raskin warned that the administration is in “serious hot water,” hinting that Congress has the “full panoply of constitutional powers” at its disposal—including the power of the purse and potentially impeachment—to hold Hegseth and Trump accountable.

Trump’s Evasive Maneuvers

At the top of the pyramid, Donald Trump appears to be engaging in a classic deflection strategy. When pressed by reporters on why he hasn’t released the video of the second strike (despite releasing the first one with fanfare), Trump feigned ignorance.

“I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have, we’d certainly release,” Trump claimed, before pivoting to his standard talking points about saving lives.

Cocchiarella frames this as a clear “cover-up.” If the strikes were as righteous and successful as Trump claims, why hide the evidence? The refusal to release the footage suggests that the administration knows exactly how damning it looks.

“There is nothing Donald Trump hates in the world more than accountability,” Cocchiarella asserts.

The “Signal Gate” Projection

Adding to the chaos is the irony of the leak investigation. While Hegseth and Leavitt aggressively attack the media for “leaking” operational details, reports confirm that Hegseth himself was responsible for endangering service members with his own “Signal Gate” breaches.

By launching a “media bias offender hotline” and blaming the press, Leavitt is attempting to gaslight the public into believing the danger comes from reporting the truth, rather than from the incompetence inside the Pentagon. It’s a strategy of projection: accuse your enemy of exactly what you are guilty of.

A Splintering Base?

The video concludes with a glimmer of hope for the opposition. Cocchiarella suggests that the sheer weight of these scandals—the hypocrisy, the potential war crimes, the cover-ups—is starting to fracture the MAGA base. With midterm elections on the horizon, Republicans in Congress may soon realize that tying their political survival to a “lawless” administration is a losing bet.

As the pressure mounts, Karoline Leavitt’s “meltdown” may be just the first domino to fall. The question now is not if more damaging information will leak, but when—and who will be left standing when the “fog” finally lifts.