Pentagon chief irks Singaporeans with Lee-Trump comparison

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a trilateral meeting between Japan, the US and Australia, at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, on Saturday, May 31, 2025. -- Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su

SINGAPORE (AFP): US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth rankled Singaporeans on Saturday by likening President Donald Trump to the city-state's late founding premier Lee Kuan Yew.

In a major speech outlining US strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, Hegseth referred to both leaders as "historic men".