Hegseth's Office Sought to Block Troops at Paris NFL Game, Then Relented After State Dept. Push

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office tried to stop U.S. military personnel from taking part in the NFL's first game in France, then backed down after the State Department intervened, according to a Washington Post report. The game is the New Orleans Saints against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Stade de France, north of Paris, this Sunday. Anonymous sources told the Post that Hegseth's office moved to cancel military involvement after protests and civil unrest in the French capital, and after President Donald Trump criticized the French response to uprisings across the country. State Department officials reportedly told Hegseth's office that U.S. troops and civilians were not believed to face a high risk of danger in Paris, and argued that having troops at the game had diplomatic value. As a result, a limited number of personnel will take part in a pregame ceremony, officials said. A senior official at the renamed Department of War did not directly confirm or deny the Post's reporting, but said the department is supporting the game amid ongoing riots and unrest, repeated Trump's remark that France is in trouble, and said the decision was made by the Secretary's core leadership team.

Right-leaning coverage, here the Daily Mail, leads with the attempt to block participation and relies on the Post's anonymous sources. It gives more room to the Department of War statement, including the Trump line about France and the attribution to Hegseth's core leadership team, and notes the department did not directly answer the Post's reporting. Left-leaning outlets, Raw Story and The Washington Post, frame it as a loss for Hegseth's office, with Raw Story saying it lost a showdown with the State Department. The Post's excerpt stresses the State Department's intervention, the limited number of personnel and the administration's focus on the unrest. Both sides agree on the core sequence of events. The visible difference is emphasis: the right includes the department's response, while the left frames the outcome as the State Department prevailing. Alternative and independent outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and right-leaning outlets had.