Raging at Media, Pete Hegseth Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud |
Raging at Media, Pete Hegseth Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud
He wants “patriotic” coverage of the Iran war. He doesn’t understand: In a democracy, coverage that asks difficult questions of the government is itself “patriotic.”
Pete Hegseth wants to live in a world in which the American military can drop bombs on scores of schoolchildren and not face serious media scrutiny over it. And he just might get that world soon enough.
That’s the only way to understand the defense secretary’s extraordinary outburst on Friday morning. He lashed out at news organizations, criticizing headlines that aren’t sufficiently praiseworthy of American military successes in the Iran war.
“I know that everything is written intentionally,” Hegseth said of the media, referring to his own previous stint as a Fox News contributor, thus seemingly admitting that Fox, at least, does deliberately skew coverage. He faulted numerous headlines, insisting that rather than report things like “Mideast War Intensifies,” the press should instead be “patriotic” and write headlines like: “Iran Increasingly Desperate.”
The visibly angry Hegseth also ridiculed a CNN story reporting that Trump’s war planners “underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz.” He added: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
That’s a direct reference to Paramount CEO David Ellison, who is acquiring CNN after taking over and creating a more Trump-friendly CBS. In short, Hegseth openly relishes future oligarchical control of the media to ensure more dutiful amplification of his propaganda.
Here’s video, via Aaron Rupar:
Hegseth: "Some in the press just can't stop. Allow me to make a few suggestions. People look at the TV and they see banners, headlines -- I used to be in that business, I know everything is written intentionally. For example, a banner -- 'Mideast War Intensifies.' What should the… pic.twitter.com/mbz70e7SsY— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 13, 2026
Hegseth: "Some in the press just can't stop. Allow me to make a few........