Pete Hegseth slammed CNN on Friday over its coverage of the war in Iran, calling the outlet “fundamentally unserious” and “patently ridiculous.” The Secretary of War even went so far as to say, “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
“We will keep pressing, we will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies. Yet some in this crew, in the press, just can’t stop,” the former Fox News host told reporters at a press briefing. “Allow me to make a few suggestions. People look up at the TV and they see banners, they see headlines. I used to be in that business, and I know that everything is written intentionally.”
“For example, a banner or a headline: ‘Mid East War Intensifies’ flashing on the screen the last couple of days, alongside visuals of civilian or energy targets that Iran has hit, because that’s what they do,” Hegseth continued. “What should the banner read instead? How about, ‘Iran Increasingly Desperate,’ because they are. They know it, and so do you, if it can be admitted.”
“Or more fake news from CNN: Reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz. Patently ridiculous, of course. For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that, it’s a fundamentally unserious report,” he concluded. “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
However, a CNN tells TheWrap: “We stand by our reporting.”
Indeed, Skydance billionaire David Ellison is poised to control CNN in the near future once Paramount’s $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery goes through. CNN Worldwide chairman and CEO Mark Thompson has cautioned staff not to jump to conclusions in the meantime.
