Staff Reports
Pete Hegseth didn’t bother with the usual, limp-center platitudes — he stood up in Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting and called out the media for second-guessing the men and women carrying the fight to our enemies. The secretary made clear that reporters sitting in comfortable offices shouldn’t be allowed to slander America’s operators or undermine the morale of the force that keeps our homeland safe.
The fireworks come amid furious controversy over a September 2 strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel, reports that a follow-up attack may have killed survivors, and a swirl of headlines eager to declare wrongdoing before all the facts are in. The White House and Pentagon have pushed back, saying an admiral ordered the second strike and that accountability and reviews are underway as Congress opens inquiries. Those are the kinds of complex, high-pressure split-second decisions journalists on deadline don’t have to make — but they sure love to condemn.
Conservatives should be blunt: if the press wants to play general from the safety of an air-conditioned newsroom or a Capitol Hill sound stage, they ought to be prepared to be called out. Hegseth defended commanders and framed the strikes as part of a larger effort to stop narco-terrorists who ship poison across our borders, reminding Americans that lethality and resolve are not vices but necessities. The secretary’s criticism of performative journalism is exactly the medicine a country that values its military needs right now.
Let’s be honest about the balance here: nobody dismisses the seriousness of allegations about shipwrecked survivors, and the Law of War Manual’s prohibition is real — but the media’s rush to moral grandstanding before classified briefings and testimony are completed is reckless. The fog of war exists precisely because decisions are made with limited information and lives on the line, and Americans should demand careful, sober oversight, not instant headlines that amount to trial by media. Hegseth’s call for a fair process and for standing by commanders until the facts are clear is the right posture for a nation at war with narco-cartels and hostile regimes.
The larger issue here is simple: a weak-media culture that rewards sensationalism over substance endangers service members and the safety of our streets. We should back leaders who restore readiness, support recruitment, and give commanders the tools to fight and win, not cower under every activist narrative pitched by cable panels and op-ed mills. If you love this country, you don’t applaud every click-seeking smear — you demand accountability, truth, and support for the troops who put their lives on the line.
Americans understand that patriotism looks like backing your team when it’s under unfair attack and insisting on real investigations where needed — not manufactured outrage that plays well on late-night TV. Hegseth’s blunt rebuke of the press is a welcome reminder that the defense of the nation isn’t a spectator sport for self-righteous reporters; it’s the solemn work of men and women who deserve our trust and our thanks. Now is the time for the country to rally behind its military and to call out a media class that prefers spectacle to substance.
