Pete Hegseth attacked the media again at a Pentagon press conference on Friday, March 13. His sites were on CNN. The former host of Fox & Friends Weekend started battling with journalists when he was installed on January 25 of last year.
Pete is looking forward to David Ellison’s CNN takeover
Pete’s media criticism focused on a report by CNN that Trump’s administration misjudged the war’s effect on the Strait of Hormuz. Controlled by Iran on three sides, the strait is the main shipping channel for the area.
CNN’s report, which did not include sources, said that Trump’s national security team “failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration.”
Pete responded that this is “Patently ridiculous, of course. For decades Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do. Hold the Strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that. It’s a fundamentally unserious report. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
David is CEO of Paramount, which is attempting a purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. He has said in the past that CNN’s independence “needs to be maintained” after the sale.
A CNN spokesperson says the network stands by the report.
The secretary has condemned the media at recent Iran war briefings. He says bringing up U.S. military tragedies is an attempt to “make the president look bad.”
“For example, a banner, a headline, ‘Mideast War Intensifies,’ splashing on the screen the last couple of days, alongside visuals of civilian or energy targets that Iran has hit because that is what they do,” Pete said at Friday’s press conference. “What should the banner read instead? How about ‘Iran Increasingly Desperate’? Because they are. They know it and so do you. If it can be admitted.”
This week, Pete prohibited press photographers from attending briefings, according to the Washington Post. He said this is because of unflattering photos.
TELL US – ARE PETE’S ATTACKS ON THE PRESS WARRANTED?
