“How about we talk about how special America is?” Hegseth asked. He’s not the first U.S. official to demand pro-war propaganda.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had a meltdown on Thursday during a Pentagon press conference, excoriating reporters for failing to act as cheerleaders for his boss, President Donald Trump. In a briefing about U.S. strikes on Iran, Hegseth criticized the press for not following the Pentagon line and called on journalists to “wave an American flag.”

His statements harken back to past Pentagon calls for fawning coverage in the name of patriotism.

“The press corps,” Hegseth complained, “cheer against Trump so hard, it’s like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad.” Hegseth’s tantrum stemmed from reporting that cast doubt on Trump’s assertion that recent U.S. air strikes had “obliterated” Iranian nuclear facilities last Saturday.

  • some_guyEnglish
    81·
    2 days ago

    Before and after Hegseth’s atomic meltdown on Thursday, Trump unleashed a paroxysm of posts on Truth Social. “FAKE NEWS CNN IS SO DISGUSTING AND INCOMPETENT. SOME OF THE DUMBEST ANCHORS IN THE BUSINESS!,” he shout-typed. “Rumor is that the Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN will be firing the reporters who made up the FAKE stories on the Iran Nuclear sites because they got it so wrong. Let’s see what happens?”

    Totally normal and not acting like a fucking child. We’re doing great, folks. /s