Pete Hegseth has been fuming at unfavorable press coverage of the war with Iran, and Stephen Colbert delivered his worst nightmare on The Late Show Monday night.
In a press briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Defense Secretary Hegseth demanded that the media stop perpetuating news. The former Fox News anchor, 45, offered suggestions to legacy media on headlines, saying that he “used to be in the industry.”
He called headlines “patently ridiculous,” “unserious,” and “fake,” suggesting several “real” headlines more aligned with the government’s insistence about how things are going.
Colbert explained that Hegseth “got mad that the media has been accurately reporting what’s happening.” The television host offered his own headlines for Hegseth, mocking the MAGA mouthpiece with his best frat-bro impression.
“Here’s another fake headline,” he said. “Secretary Hegseth visibly agitated, comma, alcohol on breath.”
“And here’s a real one for a ‘patriotic press’: Secretary Hegseth named diamond member of TGI Friday’s tequila honors program,” Colbert quipped. “It’s the same story!”
Hegseth has routinely lashed out at the media during press briefings and even attempted to ban certain photographers from the White House. He also suggested that CNN will fare better under the leadership of MAGA ally David Ellison, whose company, Paramount, won a bid to take over CNN’s parent company.
President Donald Trump and his administration have been raging at the press during the war. Trump declared that the media is using the war to “perpetuate LIES,” also taking aim at late-night “morons.”
Last week, the president accused the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and “other Lowlife ‘Papers’ and Media” for wanting the U.S. to “lose the war.” In an unhinged Truth Social rant, Trump wrote, “Their terrible reporting is the exact opposite of the actual facts!”
Trump’s media goon, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, threatened to revoke licenses from broadcasters who do not “operate in the public interest.” The president thanked Carr for reexamining “these Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic ‘News’ Organizations.”
