Pete Hegseth Attacks ‘Dishonest and Anti-Trump Press’ in Icy News Conference Rant

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth once again lashed out at members of the press over their coverage of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran on Thursday

At a icy press conference, Hegseth dressed down the “dishonest” press in the room for downplaying the “progress” made by President Donald Trump’s administration. Hegseth has recently been accusing the press of focusing too much on tragedy from the current conflict — including the more than a dozen dead U.S. service members — in order to make the president look bad.

“Yes, there are reporters in front of me, but they are not my audience today. I stand here today speaking to you, the American people, not through filters, not through reporters, not through cable news spin,” Hegseth said on Thursday. “A dishonest and anti-Trump press will stop at nothing, we know this at this point, to downplay progress, amplify every cost, and call into question every step. Sadly, TDS is in their DNA.”

Hegseth accused the press of convincing the American people the country is headed towards an “abyss” and “forever war” with Iran, which the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against late last month.

He said:

Sadly, TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome] is in their DNA. They want president trump to fail. But you, the American people, know better. Yes, there are reporters in front of me, but they are not our audience today, it is you, the good, decent, patriotic, American people. You, the hard-working, taxpaying, God-fearing American patriots. The media, not all of it, much of it, want you to think just 19 days into this conflict that we’re somehow spinning toward endless abyss or a forever war or a quagmire. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hear it from me, one of hundreds of thousands who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, who watched previous foolish politicians like [George W.] Bush, [Barack] Obama, and [Joe] Biden squander American credibility.

Hegseth also offered a message to the “patriotic” members of the press, urging them to push the “reality” that the U.S. is winning the war.

“To the patriotic members of the press, nobody can deliver perfection in war time,” he said. “This building knows that more than anyone, but report the reality. We’re winning decisively and on our terms.”

Watch above via Fox News.

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