Pete Hegseth

Trump’s Secretary of War on the Press, Pete Hegseth, Is Rebuked By the Media He’s Trying to Censor

Posted by on October 14, 2025 at 12:48 pm. 0 Comments :

The most anti-free press regime in American history, led by Donald “The Media is the Enemy of the People” Trump, is once again proving how out of touch it is with the principles of the Constitution and its First Amendment prohibition against “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”

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Pete Hegseth with Drunk Emoji

When Donald Trump made Pete Hegseth his Secretary of “War,” he was installing a flunky who he knew would obey his every command, no matter how averse to the law or morality. And Hegseth proved his fealty to Trump last month when he issued a decree demanding that the press must swear a Trumpian loyalty oath before being allowed access to the Pentagon or to military leaders who work for the American people. It was such a repugnant proposal that even Trump was against it when he first heard about it.

SEE THIS: Trump Smacks Down His Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Over His Loyalty Pledge on the Free Press

Of course, Trump, in his perpetual state of ignorance and/or dementia, likely had no idea what the new rules imposed by Hegseth meant. But they were consistent with his twisted mindset, believing that he can dictate what the media reports about him. The mandate that Hegseth imposed on the press forbids them to do any investigative reporting, interviewing, or to publish any stories that haven’t been pre-approved by Hegseth’s Pentagon overlords.

Under this decree, reporters would be required to have an approved Pentagon escort when in the building. And should they refuse to sign the oath, they risk losing their press credentials. Hegseth claimed that the new rules boiled down to three tenets:

  • The press no longer roams free. Hegseth’s explicit dismissal of the free press.
  • The press must wear visible badges. Unlike Trump’s badgeless, masked ICE thugs.
  • Credentialed press is no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts. Which they have never been permitted to do.

When a government agency threatens to revoke the credentials of news organizations that don’t obey their edicts, you don’t have a free press. You have a fascist dictatorship that obviously has some very troubling things to hide. Consequently, Hegseth’s decree was roundly rejected. Several major news outlets condemned the new rules and refused to sign. They include ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News, Associated Press, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Reuters, The Atlantic, and NPR.

Even the ultra-MAGA outlets Newsmax and the Washington Times declined to sign. The shamelessly Trump-fluffing One America News Network (OAN) is the only outlet that, so far, has agreed to go along with Hegseth’s Hegemony. And surprisingly, Fox News, Hegseth’s previous employer, was one of those that would not sign on. That’s gotta sting. In a joint statement, the resisting media said that…

“Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues.

“The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.”

It will be interesting to see if Hegseth and the Pentagon stick to this censorious initiative. Or if Trump bothers to weigh in. In the meantime, they have affirmed just how much they despise the free press. And considering everything they have to hide – including Trump’s lawlessness, his administration’s massively unpopular agenda, and of course, the infamous Jeffrey Epstein files – it’s no wonder they hate even the thought of a free press.

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Field Marshall Trump Orders His Secretary of ‘War’ to Use ‘Full Force’ Against Martian Terrorists

Posted by on September 27, 2025 at 11:31 am. 0 Comments :

Okay. You think the headline above is ridiculous? Maybe. But it is no more ridiculous than the actual news that Donald Trump made Saturday morning when he posted a bizarre and troubling comment on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social. And even though he posts bizarre and troubling comments daily, this one sinks to new lows.

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Donald Trump Tyrant Dictator

Perhaps a more realistic headline would read “Trump Authorizes Troops to Use ‘Full Force’ Against American Citizens that He Thinks are Members of a Fake Terrorist Group Called Antifa.” But while that is more realistic, it is just as ridiculous precisely because it’s real. And it exposes the depths of Trump’s dangerous and severe derangement. Not that we haven’t seen that before.

SEE THIS: WHO’S DERANGED? Trump on Biden Clones, Transgender Mice, Autopens, and His Own Mental Anguish

The comment that Trump posted was a brief, two sentence announcement that he has exercised his duties as Commander-in-Chief to threaten the people of Portland, Oregon, that he says has been “ravaged” by war. He wrote that…

“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Let’s break that down for clarity, shall we? Trump began his decree by assigning the instigation of this order to his puppy-killing Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. Then, at her urging, he ordered his utterly unqualified Secretary of War (a Cabinet position that doesn’t exist), Pete Hegseth, to dispatch “all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland,” which is neither ravaged, nor engaged in war.

Trump continued to explain that the reason for this military mission is to vanquish the completely fictional Antifa, which is just an ideology that opposes his favorite form of government, fascism. He recently designated Antifa as “domestic terrorists,” which he has no legal authority to do.

Trump closes with the most disturbing part of his harangue. He is “authorizing Full Force” against the residents of Portland, who are, of course, Americans. This is the first time that a “president” has ever suggested the use of deadly military force against American citizens simply because he disagrees with them. This invasion of Portland is on-brand for Trump who hates most of America. His Secretary of Propaganda, Karoline Leavitt, recently admitted that he only wants to deploy troops to Democratic-run cities.

Trump might as well be going into battle against KAOS, under the leadership of Maxwell Smart. His enemies are fake. His response is over-the-top. And this is just the military flank of his war against his political foes. He has already unleashed his legal armies against Democrats and their supporters, threatening to prosecute them for daring to oppose his MAGA-sty. And if he isn’t stopped, we are all potentially next in line.

Trump is preparing to sic his pseudo Justice Department on prominent donors to Democrats (Soros and Hoffman, both coincidentally Jewish?) in order to shut down his political opposition. Like any good fascist would do.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-09-27T17:00:45.241Z

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Trump Smacks Down His Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Over His Loyalty Pledge on the Free Press

Posted by on September 21, 2025 at 1:46 pm. 0 Comments :

The continuing crusade by the regime of Donald Trump to undermine the Constitution’s First Amendment is hitting new lows as he presides over previously unimaginable assaults on free speech and freedom of the press. He is playing by the rules laid out by history’s most notorious totalitarians that he admires and seeks to emulate.

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Pete Hegseth with Drunk Emoji

This week Trump’s Secretary of Defense (War?), Pete Hegseth, decreed that the press must comply with a sort of loyalty oath before they will be permitted any access to the Pentagon or the military leaders who work for the American people. It’s just what you might expect from a dry drunk whose qualifications for the job consist of having co-hosted a weekend morning program on Fox News. And it affirms the twisted mindset of Trump, who believes that he can dictate what the media reports about him.

SEE THIS: Trump’s 97% Solution is Further Evidence of His Declining Mental Acuity and Pathological Lying

The mandate that Hegseth imposed on the press forbids them to do any investigative reporting, interviewing, or to publish any stories that haven’t been pre-approved by Hegseth’s Pentagon overlords. As reported by NPR, the network that Trump and the GOP have defunded…

“The Pentagon will drastically change its rules for journalists who cover the Department of Defense, two U.S. officials who are not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to NPR Friday. The move drew sharp criticism from news organizations, who said it violated the bedrock of a free press.”

“Going forward, journalists must sign a pledge not to gather any information, including unclassified reports, that hasn’t been authorized for release. […] those who fail to obey the new policy will lose their press credentials.”

When a government agency threatens to revoke the credentials of news organizations that don’t obey their edicts, you don’t have a free press. You have a fascist dictatorship that obviously has some very troubling things to hide. Could it be that Trump and Hegseth are worried that the people will find out that the boats they are blowing up in the Caribbean were just innocent fishermen? Or are they concerned that more details of Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein will be revealed?

The NPR story quoted Hegseth saying that “DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.” This, from the guy who disclosed secret war plans in an insecure Signal chat group. He also said that “The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do.” That’s right! And the press are the people’s representatives. The people rely on the press, not partisan political hacks like Hegseth and his designated cronies, to keep them informed.

Reporting only what those in power have approved is not journalism. It’s stenography. Or as George Orwell put it: “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.” This has been a long time coming with the Trump regime. In February he issued his own decree aimed at manipulating the reporting about him…

SEE THIS: Trump Kicks Reporters Out of Pentagon Offices, Replaces Them with MAGA Media Mouthpieces

However, in a surprise announcement, Trump is now publicly distancing himself from Hegseth’s pressuring of the press. He was asked directly “Should the Pentagon be part of deciding what reporters can report on?” He replied “No, I don’t think so. Nothing stops reporters. You know that.”

It’s likely that Trump has no idea what Hegseth said, or what this reporter’s question meant. It isn’t as if he has a firm grasp of his administration – or reality. Everything he says is fungible and reversible if it suits his needs. In the meantime, Trump didn’t revoke Hegseth’s policy, so the muzzling of the press stands. Except that “Nothing stops reporters. You know that.” Well, we’ll see.

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The Charlie Kirk Canonizers Cherish Free Speech So Much They Will Prohibit Anyone From Using It

Posted by on September 14, 2025 at 12:56 pm. 1 Comments :

In the wake of the horrific shooting of ultra-conservative activist and organizer, Charlie Kirk, perhaps the most notable response from right-wing adherents to the MAGA cult of Donald Trump has been their fierce aversion to free speech and political independence.

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Donald Trump, Censorship

It isn’t enough for the Kirkians to solemnly honor the memory of the provocateur that they followed. They have a gnawing compulsion to elevate him to sainthood and decree any dissent to be unholy sacrilege. Not surprisingly, Trump himself is leading the charge of this emerging army of true believers. And praise for Kirk has devolved into a seething animosity toward his critics.

SEE THIS: Trump Delivers a Despicable Diatribe Demonizing Democrats Following the Shooting of Charlie Kirk

Disrespect for the departed is not something that civil people should engage in. But Trump has pledged to abuse the power of his office to retaliate against the infidels who seek to blaspheme their newly minted martyr. In his recent White House sermon he made it clear that dissent is verboten, saying that…

“My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.”

This is the same language used by the rest of the Kirkian flock who are so adamantly exalting him as a bastion of free and open dialogue. They apparently revere free speech so much that they believe it must be preserved in glass to keep it from being used by the unclean masses who would tarnish it. That sentiment is now being dispensed broadly throughout the MAGA-Sphere. For instance…

Sen. Katie Britt: “The rhetoric that led us to this moment, calling President Trump a fascist, calling him Hitler, you have news organizations and mainstream media celebrating that. Allowing those things to take place and be said on their networks. That is dangerous. […] Britt: If you are out there and you are celebrating the political assassination of a man who was exercising his free speech … you should be held accountable. You should be fired.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: “Hegseth has told his staff to identify any members of the military who have mocked or condoned the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk so that they can be punished.”

GOP Rep. Clay Higgins: “I’m going to use Congressional authority and every influence with big tech platforms to mandate immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk. […] I’m also going after their business licenses and permitting, their businesses will be blacklisted aggressively, they should be kicked from every school, and their drivers licenses should be revoked. I’m basically going to cancel with extreme prejudice these evil, sick animals.”

That’s just a sampling of what is circling the drain in MAGAVille. And it is already having a real world impact. NPR found that “Over thirty people across the country have been fired, put on leave, investigated or faced calls to resign because of social media posts criticizing Charlie Kirk.”

The Kirk defenders might wonder why anyone would say anything untoward about their fallen hero. Well, the folks at Zeteo helpfully published an article of “Charlie Kirk in His Own Words.” It contains “17 quotes you should read from the right-wing activist and Trump ally who was tragically shot and killed.”

It is impossible to ignore the hypocrisy of those condemning liberals and other left of center citizens for using harsh language. They are hardly innocent in that regard themselves. And that goes double for the Trump regime that regularly maligns Democrats as a “domestic extremist organization,” calling them “radical left lunatics, Marxists, communists,” and “enemies of the people,” who “hate God,” and “want to destroy America.”

However, it also impossible to dismiss the fact that most political violence is committed by far right extremists. That was confirmed in a study by the National Institute of Justice, an agency within the Department of Justice. Interestingly, the DoJ removed that study from its website this week, just as interest in the subject has been growing.

MORE HERE: Trump’s Justice Dept Disappears Study that Proves Most Violence is Caused By Far Right Radicals

Despite the right’s bellowing for retribution and the banishment from society of lefties who are mean to righties, they have a completely different standard for their own vicious vilifiers. This week the Fox News co-host of Fox and Friends, Brian Kilmeade, proposed “lethal injection” to kill all of the homeless in America. He offered a weak apology a few days later, but there has been no call from the right for Fox to fire or otherwise punish him.

Brian Kilmeade of Fox News made a pathetically weak apology for his "callous remark" calling to murder the homeless.And that's it? The right has been feverishly demanding that anyone who said anything mean about Republicans be fired or worse. But Kilmeade gets a pass after proposing mass murder?

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-09-14T17:40:01.173Z

This tells you all you need to know about the right’s feigned concern about harsh rhetoric. In the words of their Dear Leader Trump, they “couldn’t care less.” They are merely exploiting a tragedy to advance their craven political agenda. Which for them is just business as usual.

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Trump’s Pentagon Flack Brags About Female Military Recruitment with Obviously Fake AI Images

Posted by on August 15, 2025 at 12:59 pm. 0 Comments :

The flamingly dishonest propaganda that is emblematic of the Donald Trump regime has taken another turn for the worse. Just when you think they have hit rock bottom, they manage to find a trap door down there that leads to shaft dropping another mile or so.

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Donald Trump, Military Parade

The latest sinkhole being explored by the Trumpies is their celebration of what they claim to be a profound success in military recruitment of women. This is the same military that is headed up by Defense Secretary (and former Fox News host), Pete Hegseth, who has decreed that all diversity initiatives that promoted women in the services be terminated. But he spares no expense on making himself pretty for the TV cameras.

SEE THIS: Pete Hegseth Spends Thousands for a Pentagon Makeup Studio to Fortify America’s Military Might

This week the ultra-MAGA Trump-fluffing network, One America News (OAN), did an interview with Defense Department spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson. Host Matt Gaetz (former congressman and failed Attorney General nominee) conducted the interview in which they were both gushing over the alleged increase in female recruits. During the segment there was video playing of a variety of proud women soldiers in uniform. There was just one problem.

A quick glance at the images showed that they were all AI fakes. The images were generated using Elon Musk’s version of AI called Grok. And they even still had the logo in the bottom corners. Neither Gaetz nor Wilson disclosed the source of the videos or their bogus beginnings. They were too proud to let reality get in the way…

Gaetz: Tell us what the numbers are saying about the recruitment of women in our military.
Wilson: The numbers are absolutely fantastic across the board…Under the previous administration we had about 16,000 female recruits last year. Now we’ve got upwards of 24,000. This is a nearly 7,000 person increase in female recruits alone. And again, it’s not just women. It’s men too. The Army, the Air Force, the Navy, everyone is hitting their metrics early And it is a testament to Secretary Hegseth and president Trump’s leadership.

It turns out that young Americans want to sign up to be warfighters. They don’t want this ideology that the previous administration tried to hoist on them. They want to get back to basics. And that’s what we’re doing at DoD. And the numbers are just proof in the pudding.

If the spokesperson for the Pentagon will sit by while fake images are presented to support her reported numbers of female recruits, how are we supposed to trust the numbers themselves? They offered nothing to document the claim. And even if the numbers are accurate, they presented zero evidence that recruitment increased because of Trump, or Hegseth, or any increasing desire to become warfighters by American men or women.

Quite often recruitment goes up if economic opportunities in civilian life decline. And Trump’s economy and job creation has been on a steady down slope. They also failed to mention that the rise in recruitment is a trend that began during President Biden’s administration. What’s more, after Trump and Hegseth took over, they lowered the standards for education and physical health.

The profile on the Department of Defense Rapid Response X/Twitter account says “Welcome To The Official Rapid Response Account For The DOD! Supporting The Mission Of @SecDef And Fighting Against Fake News!” Hopefully their ability to fight actual wars is not reflected in their ability to fight fake news. If it is, we are in big trouble. They can’t even put on a decent parade.

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Pentagon IG: Pete Hegseth Disclosed Classified Info During His Signal Chat – Fox News Buries It

Posted by on July 25, 2025 at 1:24 pm. 0 Comments :

The fate of the Defense Secretary that Donald Trump plucked from Fox News is becoming more untenable with every day that he is tainting that noble office. Pete Hegseth was never qualified to run a toy soldier parade, much less the largest bureaucracy in the United States government. And particularly one that bears such consequential burdens for national security.

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Pete Hegseth with Drunk Emoji

Shortly after Hegseth was confirmed by a Republican Senate that is blindly compliant to Dear Leader Trump, Hegseth was caught engaging in a dialog with his defense and intelligence comrades using the Signal app, a commercial chat program that was not capable of maintaining secure communications. The chat included the Vice-President, JD Vance, the Director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, the National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, and others. During that meeting Hegseth revealed the specific plans for a military attack on Houthi terrorists in Yemen.

SEE THIS: SIGNALGATE: How Fox News Fouled Up the War Planning Chat Scandal Was More Cover-Up than Coverage

Hegseth vehemently denied that any classified information was disclosed during the chat. And Trump dismissed the whole affair by pretending that he was blissfully ignorant (which is believable) saying that, “I know nothing about it. […] You’re telling me about it for the first time.”

However, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Hegseth, Trump, and everyone else involved have been lying. It is now being reported that the Pentagon Inspector General confirmed that the plans Hegseth blabbed came from a classified email that was, in fact, labeled “SECRET!” This alarming breach of security was even reported by Fox News…

“Multiple officials tell Fox News the Pentagon’s inspector general has received evidence that the U.S. military strike plans shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over Signal derived from a classified email labeled ‘SECRET/NOFORN,’ which stands for no foreign nationals should see it. That was first reported by The Washington Post. Fox is also told the inspector general received the classified email with markings early in its investigation, which began in April.

“Secretary Hegseth’s team is responding. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell says in a statement to Fox, in part, ‘The Department stands behind its previous statements: no classified information was shared via Signal.'”

Fox News has **confirmed** reports from other outlets that the Pentagon’s watchdog has learned information in his Signal texts came from a classified email.This 40-second headline read is the entirety of the network's coverage of the story.

— Matthew Gertz (@mattgertz.bsky.social) 2025-07-25T15:39:05.223Z

So this dangerous misconduct by Hegseth was confirmed by the Inspector General of the Defense Department that he supposedly runs. And this revelation also confirms that Hegseth and his cohorts lied about it when originally asked to respond. All of that would be sufficient result in his resignation or termination under normal circumstances. Needless to say, normality is not something that is associated with the Trump administration.

What’s more, while it is notable that Fox News actually reported this scandal, no one should give them any credit for it. Because the brief mention above is the only one to date that Fox News has aired. Even though Trump’s Cabinet members, including Hegseth, are on Fox News more often than ads for Ozempic, none of them been asked to comment on this.

There are a lot of stories in this news cycle about Trump, including those about his relationship with child sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein; his “Big Ugly Billionaire’s Budget Act” (BUBBA), that will throw millions of Americans off of their health insurance plans, fund ICE as the nation’s largest law enforcement agency, and explode the National debt; his recessionary, tariff-drive economic agenda; and his weaponization of the Justice Department that has accused President Obama of treason.

MORE HERE: Trump’s DNI and Fox News Manufacture a New Crackpot Conspiracy Theory Accusing Obama of Treason

But no story exposes the potential for greater harm than the betrayal of America’s military and intelligence operations around the world. And if Hegseth (and Vance, Gabbard, Ratcliff, and Waltz) survives this ghastly behavior, than there is literally nothing that can be excluded from the atrocities that Trump might engage in.

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Lawrence O’Donnell Calls Out the ‘Stupidest White House Press Corps (and President)’ In History

Posted by on July 9, 2025 at 12:23 pm. 2 Comments :

The devolution of the White House press corps has been one of the most profoundly disturbing and dangerous aspects of the Era of Donald Trump. And it couldn’t come at a worse time. As Trump pursues his mission to undermine American principles and rule as an autocratic tyrant, much of the media is cooperating by failing to fulfill their duties as the guardians of democracy.

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Donald Trump TV Set

Immediately upon his reoccupation of the White House, Trump orchestrated an overhaul of the press corps that he regards as “the enemy of the people.”. He installed an FBI boss, Kash Patel, who has threatened to “come after the people in the media.” And he ejected credible journalists from the press briefings and replaced them with sycophantic puppets devoted to disseminating his dishonest and self-serving propaganda and lies.

SEE THIS: Trump Declares Himself King of the White House Press Corps, Will Now Decide Who Can Question Him

On Tuesday night, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell addressed this abysmal situation in an extended analysis of what’s gone wrong with the Washington press (video below). He tagged the current crop of White House Trump flunkies as “the stupidest White House press corps in history.” And that wasn’t hyperbole. O’Donnell said that…

“The possibility of a relentlessly stupid person becoming president of the United States has been underexplored by screenwriters. And then Donald Trump came along and went far beyond what Hollywood could ever imagine in the presidency.”

Recalling his past as a writer and producer on TV’s “The West Wing,” O’Donnell opined that…

“If I were writing the character of a stupid president in a script, I would simply have had the stupid president completely rely on a smart White House staff and a smart cabinet and just hide behind those people, and absolutely – and I mean absolutely – never talk to the press, because a stupid president’s stupidity would be immediately exposed by the White House press corps.

“And on that point, I would have been very wrong. Because it turns out the stupidest presidency in American history has the stupidest White House press corps in American history.”

What triggered O’Donnell’s angst was a remark made by Trump at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting where he took a few questions from the media. At one point he was asked a question by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about whether he had approved of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suspending military aid to Ukraine. Trump dodged the question, so Collins asked him directly who approved the pause. Trump arrogantly – or ignorantly – replied “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

It was Trump's Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who ordered the pause of weapons to Ukraine.Did Trump know that? Is he lying here? Or is he utterly ignorant of what's going on in his own administration?

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-07-08T17:01:03.549Z

O’Donnell went on to criticize the press corps that Trump “has been able to beat down and humiliate…to the point where they take that for an answer meekly and shut up.” No one bothered to press Trump for a serious answer about who is running the Defense Department. Note that Hegseth was sitting next to him at the table.

Following this embarrassing exchange, Trump later the same day told the press that he would be resuming military aid to Ukraine. So it makes one wonder how Hegseth manages to hold on to his job in the wake of so many glaring mistakes, including disclosing military attack plans during a chat on the Signal app.

O’Donnell summed up his segment saying that…

“Some individual members of the White House press corps – and I want to stress this – remain excellent at their jobs. But they frequently don’t get to ask Donald Trump a question. […] And I have to admit, if I were in the White House press corps, I’m not sure I would figure out how to resist it, except to maybe yell out some question about Donald Trump lying about something. And then I wouldn’t be in the White House press corps anymore. I would be shown out the door and that would be the end of that.”

Exactly. The media who continue to participate in these charades are behaving like cowards who are afraid to lose their access to the president. But that access is worthless if the only things they ever get out of him are lies and propaganda. It is not worth sacrificing your journalistic integrity.

The media needs to grow a spine and start to challenge Trump, or refuse to show up just to bolster his blatant bullshittery. That shouldn’t be a difficult decision.

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FIRE EVERYONE! Trump Rages Over Accurate Reporting of Intelligence Regarding His Iran Bombing

Posted by on June 26, 2025 at 2:07 pm. 0 Comments :

In the wake of the bombing mission that Donald Trump ordered allegedly to rid Iran of nuclear weapons capabilities, the media had the audacity to do their job and report on what was known about the mission and its results. That, of course, drove Trump crazy, because the last thing he ever wants is for the truth about his often reckless escapades being exposed to the light of day.

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Donald Trump

In Trump World it is never permitted to do or say anything critical of Dear Leader. His every word is to be regarded as if gospel, and every act must be glorified with the enthusiasm of an adoring apostle. That’s evident in the worshipful testimony delivered by his devoted propaganda purveyors.

SEE THIS: Trump Cult Priestess, Karoline Leavitt, Preaches the Divine Infallibility of Dear Leader

On Thursday Trump underwent a severe mental breakdown triggered by the press that he hates and regularly maligns as “the enemy of the people.” In a barrage of rancid posts to his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, Trump unleashed a series of demands that journalists he doesn’t like be fired. He seems to think that he’s still on “The Apprentice” and can axe people from his program at will.

The primary target of Trump’s wrath was CNN’s Pentagon correspondent, Natasha Bertrand. Trump began his harangue by lashing out at her on Wednesday saying that…

“Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out ‘like a dog.'” [And that] “She lied on the Laptop from Hell Story, and now she lied on the Nuclear Sites Story, attempting to destroy our Patriot Pilots by making them look bad…She should not be allowed to work at Fake News CNN….FIRE NATASHA!”

First of all, does anyone really believe that Trump watched CNN for three days? Setting that aside, Trump’s claim that she lied is…well, a lie. She reported what she was told by Trump’s own Defense Department Intelligence Agency. Trump even later admitted that. Although he complained that the DIA assessment was preliminary. Which Bertrand reported saying that “The analysis of the damage to the sites and the impact of the strikes on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is ongoing, and could change as more intelligence becomes available.”

Trump tried to spin this story as an attack on the pilots who flew the mission to Iran. Which is pure bullpucky. He also dredged up a five year old complaint about Hunter Biden’s laptop, which was also correctly reported by Bertrand. Then on Thursday, Trump continued his tantrum with several posts demanding the termination of many more reporters. He whined that…

“Rumor is that the Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN will be firing the reporters who made up the FAKE stories on the Iran Nuclear sites because they got it so wrong. Lets see what happens?”

And that…

“One of the greatest, most professional, and most ‘confirming’ News Conferences I have ever seen! The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!”

And that…

“FAKE NEWS REPORTERS FROM CNN & THE NEW YORK TIMES SHOULD BE FIRED, IMMEDIATELY!!! BAD PEOPLE WITH EVIL INTENTIONS!!!”

And in a major escalation of his insanity, with zero evidence, Trump fumed that…

“The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran. They should be prosecuted!“

Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who is currently playacting as Trump’s Secretary of Defense, held a press scolding Thursday morning, wherein he whined about the media in a manner that would embarrass an eight year old. During that reality TV-style melodrama, Hegseth chastised his former Fox News colleague, Jennifer Griffin, who wasn’t havin’ his asininity. And he demonstrated his pitiful lack of historical knowledge of American warfare…

This is a great example of how everything in Trump world dials up the hyperbole to preposterous levels, where whatever Trump does is the BESTEST in the history of humanity!Hegseth apparently never heard of D-Day, or Hiroshima, or Desert Storm, or getting Osama bin Laden.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-06-26T17:26:27.476Z

What Trump and his minions are making abundantly clear is that they do not want any credible journalism to be practiced in this country. They regard news reporting as unpatriotic if it isn’t gushing with praise for Trump. But nothing is more patriotic than reporters who speak truth to power.

Unfortunately, Trump’s hatred of the Constitution’s First Amendment is all too apparent in his attempts to get journalists fired when they are less than reverential supplicants to His MAGA-STY. Consequently, this country needs bold journalists now more than ever.

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Fox Nation vs. Reality:
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Trump’s Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, Tries and Fails to Justify Trump’s War on Los Angeles

Posted by on June 10, 2025 at 1:26 pm. 0 Comments :

From the day that Donald Trump first nominated Pete Hegseth to serve as his Secretary of Defense, it was widely viewed as a dangerously inappropriate proposal to elevate a completely unqualified Fox News weekend host with a history of abusing both alcohol and women.

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Pete Hegseth with Drunk Emoji

Hegseth’s experience for the job that Trump sought to give him was his junior officer ranking in the Army twenty years ago, and his management of two military related non-profits that both fired him for his incompetence and malfeasance. But he met Trump’s prerequisites, which were that he would do or say anything that Trump told him without regard to the truth or the welfare of the nation, and that he looked good on TV.

SEE THIS: Pete Hegseth Spends Thousands for a Pentagon Makeup Studio to Fortify America’s Military Might

Following Trump’s declaration of war against the City of Los Angeles, Hegseth appeared before the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. His testimony was about as rife with ignorance and dereliction as one would expect from such an unfit official. He came utterly unprepared for the inquiry that he knew he would face. That includes not having any data regarding the Pentagon’s budget proposal that the Appropriations Committee was expecting.

To make matters worse, Hegseth was also stumped by questions he should have anticipated. Particularly those about Trump’s unlawful deployment of National Guard troops and Marines in response to an overwhelmingly peaceful protest against the hostile excesses of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) in Los Angeles. And in an exchange with Rep. Pete Aguilar, Hegseth provided a chilling demonstration of just how clueless he is about his duties…

Rep. Aguilar: The legal basis that the president used cites three examples in circumstances for the Guard. Invasion by a foreign nation; a rebellion or dangerous rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States; or the president is unable with regular forces to execute the laws of the United States. Which authority is triggered here to justify the use?
Hegseth: I don’t know. You just read it yourself, and people can listen themselves. But it sounds like all three to me.

"Sounds like all three to me" — Pete Hegseth suggests the United States is under invasion by a foreign nation, prompting the need for troops in Los Angeles

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-06-10T15:34:58.019Z

REALLY? Let’s examine these one at a time, shall we?

Invasion By a Foreign Nation:
There is no evidence whatsoever that any foreign nation had invaded the United States. Hegseth mentioned the presence of some Mexican flags, but that does not infer that the government of Mexico had anything to do with the protests, and they certainly did not. There were no Mexican troops or military assets deployed to take over the U.S. The notion is downright preposterous.

A Rebellion Against the Authority of the Government of the United States:
None of the protesters came anywhere near attempting to usurp the authority of the U.S. government. They were merely exercising their rights as stated in the First Amendment to the Constitution to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Which can only be seen as a rebellion by the tyrannical tendencies of the Trump administration, where Trump regards anything critical of him as treason.

The President is Unable With Regular Forces to Execute the Laws of the United States.
The leadership provided by the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, and the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, were more than sufficient to deal with the sometimes rowdy behavior of a few protesters. If Trump was invoking this excuse for his military incursion, than he was, in effect, conceding that he was the one who was unable to execute the laws that he swore to uphold. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone, considering that he literally admitted that he doesn’t believe he has any obligation to do so.

MORE HERE: WTHF? When Asked ‘Don’t You Need to Uphold the Constitution,’ Trump Replies ‘I Don’t Know.’

Later in his testimony, Hegseth was asked about the costs associated with the deployment of troops to clamp down on the people’s right to protest. He tried to dodge the question, but was pressed on it until he finally allowed an aide to provide the answer…

“After persistent questioning about the cost of sending National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, Hegseth turned to his acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, who said it would cost $134 million.”

With that amount of money, we could house and feed more than 4,000 homeless veterans for a year. We could provide more than 9,000 veterans with healthcare for a year. Or we could oppress and intimidate a few hundred advocates for migrants’ civil rights for a month. Spending money on this deployment is an even worse allocation of funds than Trump’s ludicrous and vain $45 million birthday parade that he’s throwing for himself in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. For which he is also threatening anyone who dares to protest it.

Hegseth is not the only member of Trump’s Quack Cabinet to malign the protesters in Los Angeles. His Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, also took a swipe at them and wound up hitting the entire population of the city, saying that L.A. “is not a city of Immigrants, it’s a city of criminals.” Really? All 4,000,000 of them?

However, the views of Noem and Hegseth are not shared by the American people. A new poll has found that “47% of U.S. adults disapprove of deploying the Marines to LA, with 34% approval…45% disapprove the National Guard deployment, while 38% said they approve.”

Not that Trump or his cronies care about what the American people think. But maybe this will get some Republicans in Congress to grow a spine and reject Trump’s totalitarianism. Keep hope alive.

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Pete Hegseth Spends Thousands for a Pentagon Makeup Studio to Fortify America’s Military Might

Posted by on April 23, 2025 at 2:37 pm. 0 Comments :

One of the most prominent parts of Donald Trump’s election campaign was his promise to restore what he said was a depleted American Defense Department and to strengthen what in his opinion were weak and ineffectual troops.

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Fox News, Pete Hegseth, Cleared

Trump’s callous and ignorant insult to the soldiers who put their lives on the line every day was nothing new for him. It was just more of his derogatory rhetoric that cast fallen fighters as “suckers and losers,” from a five-time draft dodger who installed the most dangerously unqualified, and universally reviled, flunky to run the Pentagon in U.S. history.

SEE THIS: WHUT? Trump’s Press Secretary Reveals that ‘the Entire Pentagon is Working Against’ Pete Hegseth

Hegseth has made a lot of noise about returning command of the U.S. military to the warfighters. By which he seems to have meant eliminating anyone who didn’t fit his, and Trump’s, perverse idea of a soldier. Therefore, they had to banish women and LGBTQ troops. And they had to terminate programs that advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a goal for ending discriminatory promotions.

However, this vision of a stronger, whiter, more masculine fighting force may not be the only thing on Hegseth’s mind to improve the American military. Because it has just been reported that he has spent thousands of dollars to build a makeup studio in the Pentagon. Apparently, our soldiers also have to look good in battlefield photos. Or more likely, when Hegseth and other officers are making appearances on Fox News. CBS News reports that…

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News.

“The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures.”

The CBS story also noted that a Deputy Assistant to the Secretary for Strategic Engagement (whatever that is), and Hegseth’s wife expressed their approval of the studio. Both just happen to be former Fox News producers. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone since Hegseth himself is former Fox News weekend host. Which is where Trump found him, just like at least twenty other people that Trump recruited for his White House staff…

MORE HERE: Trump’s Nominees Are Largely Fox News Alum, Mar-a-Lago Patrons, and Billionaires

Despite Hegseth’s insistence that the only thing he’s interested in is improving the warfighting abilities of the armed forces and military readiness, his emphasis on more shallow objectives, such as appearance, is noticeably uppermost among his priorities. He said as much Wednesday when he said this about troops to students at the U.S. Army War College…

“They need to be fit, not fat. Sharp, not shabby. Especially our leaders. That’s why we’re reviewing how the department has maintained standards in the past, such as the last four years, and whether those standards have dropped.”

MUST WATCH: Pete Hegseth really thinks a fat officer is more dangerous than traitors leaking war plans or extremists infiltrating the ranks. Not sabotage. Not sedition. Just body fat. This isn’t about standards—it’s about being a performative, fascist little bitch on TV.

— Kye (@gxldsociety.bsky.social) 2025-04-23T19:50:12.630Z

You have to wonder who Hegseth was thinking about when he said “Especially our leaders.” Has he ever actually seen Donald Trump? Furthermore, his reference to the standards of the past administration is one of the mandatory offhand insults of President Biden that all Trump subordinates are required to make in every public address.

It’s clear that Hegseth has other things on his mind than military readiness. That was also evident when he disclosed sensitive attack plans in two separate Signal chats that included people without security clearances, such as a journalist, and his wife. But did anyone expect anything more of a former TV talking head with zero experience in managing anything bigger than a lemonade stand?

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And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.