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‘FRANKLIN’ PUBLISHER SLAMS HEGSETH FOR HIS POST OF THE TURTLE
FIRING ON DRUG BOATS  
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Rachel Treisman
December 2, 2025
NPR
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_ Hegseth's social media post shows the turtle, clad in tactical
gear, standing on a helicopter and aiming a rocket-propelled grenade
at one of several boats in the water below. It's designed to look like
an edition of the children's book, Franklin _

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pictured at a late Novermber press
conference, is facing scrutiny for U.S. attacks on alleged drug boats
— and a parody of a children's book cover. , Felix Leon/AFP via
Getty Images

 

"For your Christmas wish list …" Hegseth wrote in the caption, as he
faces growing scrutiny over the legality
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of a set of strikes on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean in early
September.

On Monday, Toronto-based publishing house Kids Can Press released a
statement [[link removed]]
defending Franklin as a "beloved Canadian icon who has inspired
generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy and
inclusivity."

"We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent or unauthorized use of
Franklin's name or image, which directly contradicts these values," it
added.

Franklin, who usually wears a red neckerchief and baseball cap (not a
ballistic helmet), has delighted kids since the debut of his book
series in 1986 — with dozens of titles including _Franklin Goes to
School_ and _Franklin Wants a Pet_ — and an animated TV series a
decade later.

It is not clear why Hegseth — who is a father and stepfather of
seven children — chose the turtle of all characters, though
_Franklin_ book covers have inspired some popular parodies
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the past.

When asked for comment, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told
NPR over email: "We doubt Franklin the Turtle wants to be inclusive of
drug cartels… or laud the kindness and empathy of narco-terrorists."

A number of Democrats were quick to condemn the post, as well as the
larger controversy behind it.

Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who has openly sparred
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with the Pentagon in recent weeks, told reporters
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just one reason why the defense secretary should be fired, calling him
"not a serious person."

"He is in the national command authority for nuclear weapons and he's
putting out … turtles with rocket-propelled grenades," Kelly said.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on the floor
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Monday, called Hegseth a "national embarrassment" and described the
Franklin meme as a "sick parody."

"Tweeting memes in the middle of a potential armed conflict is
something no serious military leader would ever even think of doing,"
Schumer added. "The only thing this tweet accomplishes is to remind
the whole world that Pete Hegseth is not up to the job."

Questions mount over September incident

Hegseth was already in the hot seat, facing bipartisan scrutiny and
questions from Congress about what happened — and whether any war
crimes were committed — on Sept. 2, when the U.S. carried out the
first of over 20 strikes
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on alleged drug vessels.

U.S. officials have described their targets as "narcoterrorists" from
Latin America, though they have not released information about who was
on board those boats or evidence that they were ferrying drugs.

Trump administration officials originally described
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as a single strike on a Venezuelan vessel that killed 11 alleged
members
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the Tren de Aragua gang. But in the ensuing weeks, as the U.S. has
shared grainy videos of the growing number of strikes on vessels in
the Caribbean and Pacific, more questions and revelations emerged
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about the one that started it.

Last week, the _Washington Post_ reported
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— and a source confirmed to NPR
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— that Hegseth gave a spoken directive to kill the surviving
occupants of the boat with a second strike. Attacking "wounded, sick
or shipwrecked" combatants violates the law of war, according to a
Pentagon manual
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Hegseth denied those reports
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inflammatory and derogatory," saying U.S. operations in the Caribbean
are "lawful under both U.S. and international law … and approved by
the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of
command."

But that didn't satisfy lawmakers, several of whom
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— on both sides of the aisle — raised concerns
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war crime. Over the weekend, both the House and Senate Armed Services
Committees opened investigations into the incident.

Then, on Monday, the White House confirmed that there had been a
second strike, but attributed the directive to another military
leader.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said
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Hegseth had authorized Adm. Mitch Bradley — who led Joint Special
Operations Command at the time — to conduct the strikes, adding that
Bradley "worked well within his authority and the law." Later that
day, Hegseth tweeted
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support" of Bradley and his combat decisions.

But a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly has since
disputed the White House's account, telling NPR's Tom Bowman
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that Hegseth issued the command for "two strikes to kill" and two
additional strikes to "sink the boat."

For his part, President Trump has defended Hegseth but distanced
himself from the incident. When asked by reporters on Sunday night
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okay with Hegseth having ordered a second strike, Trump said, "He said
he didn't do it, so I don't have to make that decision."

Adm. Bradley, who was promoted to commander of U.S. Special Operations
Command a month after the incident, is scheduled to provide a
classified briefing
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to lawmakers on Thursday.

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* Pete Hegseth; Drug Boat Killings; Franklin Childrens Books;
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