Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went into meltdown mode at the press while speaking at the White House about the Iran war on Thursday.
The Pentagon chief was seated next to President Donald Trump in his Cabinet meeting when he went off during his chance to speak and heap praise on his boss.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, almost seems incapable of getting on camera at this stage in the Iran war without attacking the media.
“Mr. President, you are acting now to ensure future generations do not have to live under the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran,” Hegseth said. “However, you wouldn’t know it if you listen to the dishonest hate-Trump media as you referenced.”
The defense secretary then turned his wrath on the reporters and cameras in the room.
“The folks here in the room, these cameras, they have a choice. You’re either informing the American people of the truth, or you’re not,” Hegseth ranted.
“Because I hear it from my people every day. Behind every headline you write, there’s a helicopter crew in the air. And behind every news banner you write, there’s a battalion on the move, and behind every fake news story, there’s an F-35 pilot executing a dangerous mission,” he continued.
“My message to the media is get it right,” Hegseth warned.
It was not the first time Hegseth has gone off on the press. He’s complained about headlines and attacked specific reports during his numerous briefings on the war in Iran.
After the defense secretary bashed the press, he went back to delivering some of his favorite pre-rehearsed lines, which he appeared to have jotted down in advance.
“We welcome a deal, and we have the ultimate deal maker to make it happen, but in the meantime, we will continue negotiating with bombs,” Hegseth said, repeating his claims Tuesday in the Oval Office. “War in negotiation by other means.”
He also told the president seated to his right during his gushing remarks: “This is stuff for the history books” and “this is stuff for legacy.”
But while Hegseth was giving his best suck-up to the president, Trump repeatedly closed his eyes and hunched over as the defense secretary spoke.
When that has happened at Cabinet meetings in the past, Trump has defended closing his eyes by claiming he was bored.
