CNN is standing by its reporting after the defense secretary spent several minutes complaining about unfavorable coverage of the Trump administration’s war in Iran.
In a press conference held on Friday morning after six U.S. troops were killed in an Air Force refueling plane crash in Iraq, Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took a large portion of his time to voice pre-prepared remarks about his issues with the media’s coverage of the war.
“More fake news from CNN, reports that The Trump Administration Underestimated the Iran War’s Impact on the Strait of Hormuz," Hegseth read. "Patently ridiculous, of course. For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage.”
“The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” Hegseth said in reference to the MAGA-friendly Paramount boss who is poised to take over CNN’s parent company.
A CNN spokesperson told the Daily Beast in a statement, “We stand by our reporting.”
A potential Paramount takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery is still months away. Still, Hegseth appeared to be saying the quiet part out loud of what Trump administration officials have privately wished—that Ellison make CNN more Trump-friendly as he has with CBS News.
Hegseth, a former Fox News weekend host, also voiced “a few suggestions” about the banners networks have been using to describe Trump’s war.
“People look up at the TV, and they see banners. They see headlines. I used to be in that business, and I know that everything is written intentionally,” Hegseth complained.
Last week, Hegseth complained that the media had been portraying the war in a bad light because news outlets had covered the deaths of U.S. troops.
“When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news,” he ranted. “I get it. The press only wants to make the president look bad.”
On Hegseth’s constant gripes with the media, one former Fox colleague of Hegseth’s told CNN’s Reliable Sources, “He’s acting like he’s back on the Fox & Friends couch."
Earlier this week, he barred photographers from the Pentagon during his briefings because he did not like some “unflattering” angles they captured of him.
The photographer ban comes as the defense secretary modified a green room near the Pentagon briefing room, outfitting it with mirrors and lighting so Trump administration officials can get TV-ready.
The Pentagon is already filled with only MAGA media outlets after it required reporters to sign off on new rules to obtain a media pass.
Most traditional outlets, including Fox News, refused to sign on, so the only outlets with a regular presence at the Pentagon are full-on MAGA, including Lindell TV, which is run by conspiracy theorist and My Pillow Guy chief Mike Lindell, the Federalist, Breitbart News, and the Gateway Pundit.
