A combative Pete Hegseth slammed the press Thursday morning for reporting on a leaked assessment of the United States’ strikes in Iran — all while defending President Donald Trump’s day-one assessment of the strikes.
“Time and time again, classified information is leaked or peddled for political purposes to try to make the president look bad,” the secretary of defense said, attacking the press for “irresponsible” reporting on assessment information that he said was not conclusive and premature.
“Because you cheer against Trump so hard,” Hegseth said. “You want him not to be successful so bad, you have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes.”