'Franklin' publisher slams Hegseth for his post of the turtle firing on drug boats

The publisher of the Franklin children's book series has rebuked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he posted a meme of the anthropomorphic turtle firing on drug boats.

Hegseth's social media post from Sunday shows the turtle, clad in tactical gear, standing on a helicopter and aiming a machine gun at one of several boats in the water below. It's designed to look like an edition of the children's book, but titled Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists.

"For your Christmas wish list …" Hegseth wrote in the caption, as he faces growing scrutiny over the legality 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 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 in 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 with the Pentagon in recent weeks, told reporters that the meme is 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 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 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 the first attack as a single strike on a Venezuelan vessel that killed 11 alleged members of 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 about the one that started it.

Last week, the Washington Post reported — and a source confirmed to NPR — 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.

Hegseth denied those reports as "fabricated, 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 — on both sides of the aisle — raised concerns about a potential 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 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 in "100% 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 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 whether he would be 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 to lawmakers on Thursday.

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