Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth used a high-stakes Pentagon briefing to launch a blistering attack on CNN’s coverage of the U.S. conflict with Iran, accusing the network of spreading “fake news” about the Trump administration’s war strategy. Hegseth slammed a recent CNN report that said officials didn’t think about how Iran might respond and how closing the Strait of Hormuz might affect the economy. He called the story “patently ridiculous” and “fundamentally unserious.”
Hegseth said that Iran has been threatening shipping in the important waterway as a way to put pressure on the US for “decades.” Hegseth said that the Pentagon had fully taken that risk into account when planning for the Iran war. He made fun of the network’s analysis by saying, “CNN doesn’t think we thought of that.” Hegseth framed the article as part of a larger pattern of negative coverage of President Donald Trump and his national security team.
Hegseth then turned to the future of CNN under its new owner, David Ellison, the head of Paramount, whose company recently won a bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. Hegseth said, “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.” He suggested that Ellison’s leadership could change CNN’s editorial culture and bring back what he thinks is more responsible reporting.
The White House backed up Hegseth’s message. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt called CNN’s Iran story “garbage” and said that “Fake News” outlets are working overtime to hurt Trump, his administration, and the U.S. military as they try to “neutralize the Iranian regime’s threat.” Hegseth used the briefing to show that he was sure that the U.S. was “decimating” Iran’s military capabilities. He also criticized the press for, in his opinion, downplaying American successes and making people doubt the war’s progress.
