Weekly reminder: Pete Hegseth is the worst

Dear Reader,

There are low points. And then there are shovel-through-the-core-of-the-earth low points. Welcome to Pete Hegseth’s performance during last week’s farcical “news conference” about the Iran bombing — a masterclass in sycophantic nonsense so thick it should come with a hazmat warning.

In a moment meant to update the American people on why we just dropped bombs in a volatile region again without congressional approval or international support, Pete Hegseth took the podium—not as a statesman, not even as a soldier—but as a full-blown propagandist, wagging his finger at the press corps like a PTA mom scolding teenagers for vaping behind the gym.

Here’s the scene: bombs fell, tensions rose, and instead of answers, we got Hegseth’s Fox-flavored fever dream. He didn’t address the lack of intelligence backing the attack. He didn’t clarify whether the strike was preemptive, retaliatory, or just a mid-afternoon distraction from collapsing poll numbers. Nope.

Instead, he launched into a bizarre, scowling tirade about the “corrupt media elite,” blaming them for “spinning the truth” and “undermining the commander-in-chief at a time of war.”

Translation: Stop asking questions. Start kneeling.

Hegseth, who apparently thinks journalism is the enemy and loyalty to Trump is the only acceptable ideology, accused reporters of “abetting the enemy” simply for asking whether the intelligence was credible (spoiler: it’s not) or if Iran posed an imminent threat (spoiler: it didn’t). When pressed, he pivoted faster than a televangelist caught with a second yacht.

To be clear:

• The intelligence community had previously stated there was no clear or immediate nuclear threat from Iran.
• Military advisors were reportedly blindsided by the timing of the strike.
• Allies were left in the dark, again.

But don’t worry—Hegseth wants you to believe that the real problem is the New York Times, not reckless military escalation by a narcissist with a grudge and a fragile ego.

This wasn’t a press briefing. It was a love letter to Dear Leader, written in Sharpie, read aloud through clenched teeth, and wrapped in a flag like that somehow excuses the authoritarian overtones.

Let’s be honest—Hegseth’s job wasn’t to inform. His job was to bark, to distract, to intimidate the free press into silence while the administration wades deeper into unconstitutional waters. And in that job, he performed admirably—as a loyal foot soldier of disinformation.

Here’s what we’re left with:

• Zero accountability.
• No congressional oversight.
• An administration acting with impunity.
• A former TV host turned Trump henchman lashing out at the Fourth Estate like it’s a Waffle House brawl.

If this administration wanted the country to trust its military actions, it might try transparency. Or competence. Or truth.

Instead, they send Hegseth.

If you’re feeling rage, good. Channel it.

📣 Call your Senators. Tell them to take out the trash!

🖋️ Write your Representatives.

📢 Demand oversight.

✍️ Share the facts.

The press isn’t the enemy. The enemy is anyone who treats war like a campaign stunt and truth like a casualty.

In outrage and resistance,

Julie Bolejack, MBA

Truth-teller, Patriot, Not Buying the Bullshit