Secretary of War Pete Hegseth took the mainstream media, including his former employer, Fox News, to the proverbial woodshed over their dedication to opposing every action taken by President Donald Trump, instead of fulfilling their journalistic duty to present the American people with the truth during a press conference.
A clip of Hegseth’s fiery speech is going viral on social media, showing the secretary taking on reporters for their heavily biased coverage of the war effort in Iran. “It is because of you, and I mean specifically you, the press, specifically you the press corps, because you cheer against Trump so hard in your DNA and in your blood, cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad you have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes,” Hegseth said at the start of his rant.
“You have to hope maybe they weren’t effective, maybe the way the Trump administration’s representative isn’t true,” he continued, going on to point out the media spin surrounding the strikes in Iran. “So let’s take half truths, spun information, leaked information, and then spin it, spin it in every way we can, to try to cause doubt and manipulate the mind, the public mind, over whether or not our brave pilots were successful.”
Hegseth then slams the media for not reporting on how difficult it is for members of the military to carry out these strikes with accuracy. “How many stories have been written about how hard it is? I don’t know. Fly a plane for 36 hours. Has MSNBC done that story? Is Fox? Have we done the story? How hard that is?” Hegseth asked the reporters in the room.
“Have we done it two or three times so that American people understand? How about how difficult it is to shoot a drone from an F-15 or F-16 or F-22 or F-35?” the secretary of war challenged the media. “I think it’s too much to ask, unfortunately, for the fake news, so we’re used to that, but we also have an opportunity to stand at the podium and read the truth of what’s really happening. And the reality is, you want to call it destroyed. You want to call it defeated. You want to call it obliterated. Choose. Your. Word.”
The viral video has caused quite a reaction from folks on both the left and the right. One user came to Hegseth’s defense after a popular Democratic account slammed him for his dressing down of the media and demanded he be impeached, saying, “BrooklynDad_Defiant calling Hegseth ‘unhinged’ and demanding impeachment over a press exchange is the same old smear to weaken real leadership during tough times.”
“Trump admin reports confirm U.S.-Israeli forces hit over 15,000 Iranian targets — missiles, drones, air defenses, naval vessels, nuclear/missile sites, Karaj bridge — heavily degrading Iran’s capabilities. America is winning and the propaganda is losing,” the user continued, going on to add, “America First keeps delivering at home by removing invaders, crushing fraud, and securing elections with real ID and paper ballots to protect families and kids’ futures. Super-majorities will keep us unstoppable.”
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Another commenter scolded the Democrat account by writing, “I see someone passionate about their country and the people that serve. I also saw your page is paid for and funded by the Democratic Party.” A third individual supported Hegseth, calling him “the most effective Secretary of War that we have had in my lifetime.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video