Raging at Media, Pete Hegseth Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud | He wants “patriotic” coverage of the Iran war. He doesn’t understand: In a democracy, coverage that asks difficult questions of the government is itself “patriotic.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/207760/pete-hegseth-iran-war-patriotic-media-coverage
27 Comments
Pete Hegseth is pathetic, insecure, weak, and generally useless.
So he unironically watches Fox News and believes it to be “truthful accurate reporting”. That’s just sad.
He’s from FOX so add some graphics with Eagles flying around and an American flag waving, To them that’s what “patriotic” means.
Nothing but giant man baby’s running this place.
From the [article](https://newrepublic.com/article/207760/pete-hegseth-iran-war-patriotic-media-coverage):
>The visibly angry Hegseth also ridiculed a [CNN story](https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/12/politics/hormuz-trump-administration-underestimated-iran) reporting that Trump’s war planners “underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz.” He added: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
>That’s a direct reference to Paramount CEO David Ellison, who is acquiring CNN after taking over and creating a more Trump-friendly CBS. In short, Hegseth openly relishes future oligarchical control of the media to ensure more dutiful amplification of his propaganda.
>…
>Take the reporting on the bombing of an Iranian elementary school with scores of children inside who have reportedly been killed—a central event in this conflict and potentially one of the worst atrocities in modern memory. On February 28, the day the war started, *The New York Times* [painstakingly laid out evidence](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/world/middleeast/iran-school-us-strikes-naval-base.html) suggesting the United States was likely responsible. It followed up with [more](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/world/middleeast/iran-minab-school-strike.html). Reuters [disclosed](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-investigation-points-likely-us-responsibility-iran-school-strike-sources-say-2026-03-06/) that American investigators also concluded the U.S. role was likely. The Associated Press [revealed](https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-school-hegseth-trump-2ffff06808f7a584b0a03831897ab0b8) that the bombing might have reflected faulty intelligence. All this reporting was careful and nuanced.
>Hegseth is irritated with that scrutiny too. On Friday, he [confirmed](https://bsky.app/messages/3ldjnedyu272t?embed=) that an investigation of the bombing is underway but added this absurdity: “We’re not going to let reporting lead us or force our hand into indicating what happened.”
>So let’s state this clearly: *A key reason we want media scrutiny and fact finding is precisely that it will, in fact, put pressure on official inquiries like this one*. …
He completely understand that. He sees it an anti-fascist though.
as others have said, this war is gender affirming care for Trump and Hegseth, who are deeply insecure. Asking questions about the war is questioning their manhood.
They want the W Bush treatment of 89% approval where they only had to deal with Michael Moore.
He believes patriotism means blind loyalty to *his party*, not the United States, not the Constitution, not even basic Democratic values. Most conservatives ranting on right-wing media feel the same way, and why shouldn’t they, their President reinforces the idea daily by portraying any opposition as “the Enemy Within”.
If I’m Hegseth, or any of these fools, I’m keeping my damn mouth shut. Every time he speaks he says something incriminating.
This is fascism.
“Patriotic” has got a different meaning. It means: OBEY!
I thought this was clear by now.
Citizens and media should always be critical of the government. I don’t mean that in the sense of negative, but literally critical evaluation: Why is the government doing this? How does it benefit the people?
Title nailed it.
Is this is how Princeton graduates are expected to act? Damn he’s bringing the reputation of that institution down with him.
He’s a Fox propagandist through-and-through…are we really surprised by this?
So sick of headlines “saying the quiet part out loud”. There is no quiet part with these people.
I guess it’s been nearly 20 years so there is a whole generation of young adults who have no memory of the horrendous pro-Iraq war coverage of the early 2000s.
Even most Republicans today act disgusted by it and act like they weren’t banging the war drum and celebrating a middle east oil war.
All he wants is an authoritarian, brutal, dictatorship with no freedoms for anyone whatsoever, and unlimited money and privilege for the Trump admin.
Is that so much to ask?
criticizing the government and military is the most patriotic thing you can do. That’s exactly what the original patriots did.
Thats because Kegsbreath doesnt understand anything about our country. He was far too drunk for civics class and WASTED through OCS. He is the epitome of the worst representation of veterans.
They really, truly thought this would
1. go as well as the Maduro kidnapping in terms of escalation against us. They really, truly thought doing this in the middle of Iranian citizens protesting their government they’d at worst leave in the middle of a civil war and at best seen as heroes by the Iranian people
2. Be seen and covered in the same light as Operation Iraqi Freedom initially was domestically
He is not a smart man.
It’s convenient when authoritarians speak from the heart: nothing is more convenient than an “independent media” that says ONLY what the authoritarian scripts for them.
Does he actually think that he deserves respect?
Except for the fact we’re not IN a democracy anymore, we’re in an Oligarchy. Our democracy is a facsimile.
“Patriotic coverage”
So I’m guessing there are going to be boots on the ground, which means more casualties – which they don’t want publicised.
So am I supposed to feel patriotic every time we drop a bomb and kill children?
The media doesn’t work for you, they work for the people – so we know how our employees are performing. They already give you too much leeway and too little push back. Like it or not, you have to answer to the people. You have to follow the law. Being a hostile little shit isn’t going to help you.