Photographers were denied access to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon briefing on Friday after he complained about ugly photos of himself.
The blocked entry was reported by The Atlantic journalist Nancy Youssef in a post on X, in which she shared that she had also been barred from the room.
“I, along with print photographers, have been denied entry to cover today’s Pentagon briefing. All other media were allowed in,” wrote the former Daily Beast reporter.
The move came after The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon was banning photographers because of “unflattering” photos of the former Fox News host-turned defense secretary.
According to two sources, members of Hegseth’s team told colleagues that they did not like how the defense secretary looked after his initial Pentagon briefing on the Iran war on March 2, just days after the strikes began.
The briefing with him and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine was attended by photographers from several major news outlets, including the Associated Press, Reuters, and Getty Images.
Because of the supposedly unflattering photos, Hegseth’s team decided to block the photographers from the briefings on March 4 and 10, and again on Friday, March 13.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson responded to The Washington Post with a statement about photographers being shut out: “In order to use space in the Pentagon Briefing Room effectively, we are allowing one representative per news outlet if uncredentialed, excluding pool. Photographs from the briefings are immediately released online for the public and press to use.”
“If that hurts the business model for certain news outlets, then they should consider applying for a Pentagon press credential,” she added.
The Pentagon isn’t just taking issue with how photographs have captured the former television host-defense secretary. Hegseth spent a good amount of his statement at Friday’s briefing ranting at the media, even as U.S. casualties mount in the Middle East.
He blasted CNN over its reporting that the Trump administration underestimated Iran’s willingness to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and whined about the headlines he was seeing on TV while offering up what he personally thinks the banners on television should be.
The defense secretary’s rant about coverage came after the Department of Defense kicked out the longtime Pentagon Press Corps last fall and instead replaced it with a series of pro-Trump outlets and MAGA influencers.
But that did not insulate the Pentagon from scathing reports and ongoing leaks to the press despite Hegseth uses his powerful position to fiercely mount his own PR campaign in support of President Donald Trump and his war in Iran.
Banning photographers from taking pictures at the recent briefings is not the only vain behavior the Pentagon chief has exhibited since he took office.
According to the New York Times, the former TV presenter was spotted dabbing his nose with powder from a makeup compact at NATO headquarters and told an aide to “look commanding,” before meeting with the Ukrainian defense minister in Brussels, Belgium, last year.
The Pentagon claimed that the reason The Atlantic reporter was denied access on Friday was because it was making room for other outlets with limited space.
