Jimmy Kimmel took aim at “phony tough guy” Pete Hegseth for his unabashed “vanity” after the self-styled “secretary of war” allegedly banned photographers from the White House for releasing unflattering photographs of him.
“Turns out our phony tough guy, our secretary of war, is a sensitive little snowflake making a safe space for his beautiful face,” Kimmel joked.
“Give him two horns and a steering wheel… he’s Bowser in Mario Kart,” Kimmel joked, displaying a photograph of the Defense Secretary speaking aggressively to the press.
“And the truth is, Pete Hegseth is actually a handsome guy… on the outside. On the inside, he looks like the old lady from ‘Weapons,’” he said.
The late-night host called out Hegseth for implementing this decision while the U.S. is fighting a war in Iran. Hegseth’s staff reportedly shut out photographers after disapproving of pictures taken of the defense secretary at press briefings related to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
“Who would have ever guessed the guy who spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on a makeup studio might be a little bit self-absorbed?” Kimmel asked, referring to Hegseth’s infamous, makeshift makeup studio in the Pentagon. The project, which reportedly cost thousands of dollars, was first revealed by CBS. Hegseth denied the accusation.
The White House crackdown on photographers was the latest, as Kimmel puts it, in Hegseth’s “crusade against the free press.” The former Fox News Anchor has attempted to restrict press access to briefings, requiring news organizations to agree to a new department policy last September. Legacy media publications, including The New York Times and The Associated Press, refused to sign, as did Hegseth’s former employer, Fox News.
Hegseth’s lack of clarity amid the ongoing war has been criticized by the media, including the typically conservative New York Post. The Defense Secretary has held multiple war briefings, including a March 4 conference in which he slammed the press for focusing on the casualties of war.
“When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news,” he said. “I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad – but try for once to report the reality.”
