This morning, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth led a Pentagon briefing about the ongoing U.S. and Israeli operations in Iran.
Hegseth gave an update on the progress of Operation Epic Fury, and also had some choice words for some of the media:
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth: "This is what the fake news misses. We've taken control of Iran's airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through, or tragic things happen, it's front page news."
— One America News (@OANN) March 4, 2026
Watch OAN on Spectrum… pic.twitter.com/uHXCJahczl
Brian Stelter called that from Hegseth a partisan "incendiary claim" about the media:
This morning Pete Hegseth suggested that the press prominently covers service member casualties to "make the president look bad" – an incendiary claim that injected partisan politics into a wartime Pentagon press conference https://t.co/i49rFPiTcJ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 4, 2026
Stelter might think it's an "incendiary claim" but it's certainly not false:
I worked at CNN during parts of the Bush & Obama administrations. As soon as Obama took office, the way troop deaths were covered wildly differed because the media hated Bush & loved Obama. @PeteHegseth is right & you’re wrong
— Tom Sileo (@TSileo) March 4, 2026
And he’s not wrong about it. Enjoy your new bosses
— Scooter (@Arkanward) March 4, 2026
Recommended
Partisan operative surprised that Hegseth suspects partisan operatives are reporting in a partisan manner.
— The Inflationlands (@apparentlyexemp) March 4, 2026
The only incendiary thing here is Brian's limitless hypocrisy. https://t.co/7Xct90ZMtO
Attempts to claim that much of the media is objective and criticism otherwise is unfair is simply laughable:
We all remember when the CNN COVID death counter mysteriously disappeared the moment Biden was sworn in.
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) March 4, 2026
Yeah, take this talking point and shove it. https://t.co/0L2QVQcDD2
When Joe took over, CNN magically became far less interested in their Covid death toll ticker. 🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/zEiq0utZeH
— Art (@realinroart) March 4, 2026
We couldn't help but notice that at the time either.
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