politics
March 13, 2026
Pete Hegseth’s Worrisome Press Briefing
If you want to believe the Iran war is going as planned, don’t listen to the defense secretary.
TL;DR
- Pete Hegseth's press conference today did not instill confidence regarding the excursion in Iran.
- CNN reported the administration erroneously assumed Iran would keep the Strait of Hormuz open, which Iran has since mined and fired upon.
- Hegseth dismissed CNN's report as 'fake news' but his explanations inadvertently supported the claims.
- He suggested the administration's primary challenge is preventing negative news coverage, not managing the war itself.
- Hegseth urged reporters to focus on the alleged disfigurement of Iran's leader, a point seen as a distraction.
- He called for Trump ally David Ellison to take over CNN, indicating a desire to control media narratives.
- The briefing suggested a lack of a realistic plan to end the conflict and an emphasis on controlling the reporting of the war's progress.
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