Pete Hegseth melts down over media coverage & gender questions in explosive Pentagon press conference

In an early Thursday morning, combative and defensive briefing at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — a former Fox News personality — accused reporters of “cheering against Trump,” dismissed intelligence leaks as politically motivated, and lashed out at questions about gender representation in the military as “little games.”

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Hegseth, appointed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, delivered a fiery opening statement countering media reports of less damage to facilities than the administration claimed, focused on what he called “historic” U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. He criticized national media outlets for reporting on a leaked preliminary intelligence assessment questioning the long-term impact of the strikes, which were part of a campaign the administration has dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer,” last weekend.

“You miss historic moments like 5 percent at NATO,” Hegseth said, referring to new defense spending commitments from U.S. allies announced in the Netherlands this week. “Because it was under President Trump’s leadership… the press corps doesn’t want to write about it.”

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Flanked by Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, Hegseth read aloud from supportive statements by Israeli, U.S., and U.N. officials — while repeatedly accusing reporters of bias, leaking classified documents, and undermining the military’s success. “It’s in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump,” Hegseth told the Pentagon press corps.

Caine followed with a highly detailed technical breakdown of Saturday’s strikes on Iran’s Fordo nuclear site, including a video simulation of the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator or so-called “bunker buster” bomb in action. Though he deferred battle damage assessment to the intelligence community, he said that the weapons functioned as designed and credited “years of work by Defense Threat Reduction Agency officers.” Neither man provided any evidence on the extent of the damage.

The briefing grew more tense when a reporter asked why Hegseth’s early praise emphasized “boys in bombers” without mentioning women pilots. At least one woman flew one of the combat missions, the government has acknowledged.

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“Of course, the chairman mentioned a female bomber pilot. That’s fantastic; she’s fantastic... But it’s the obsession with race and gender in this department that’s changed priorities,” Hegseth said. “We don’t do that anymore. We don't play your little games.” Before assuming his current role, Hegseth has said that women don’t belong in combat and has enacted a ban on service by transgender people who, according to Hegseth, are incompatible with the Pentagon’s “warrior ethos.”

Pressed on whether the administration could confirm that enriched uranium had not been moved from the target site before the strike, Hegseth gave no direct answer. He instead berated one journalist as “the worst” and said, “Do you have a top-secret clearance, sir?” when asked about intelligence transparency.

At several points, he contrasted what he called “fake news” with the concept of patriotic duty. “Wave an American flag, be proud of what we accomplished,” Hegseth said.