boom
After one of the most complex military operations in American history—Operation Epic Fury—SecDef Pete Hegseth stood at the Pentagon podium and delivered a verdict on the press corps so direct that no one in the briefing room could misread it.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘠𝘖𝘜,” Hegseth said, staring directly at the reporters. Because they cheer against Trump so hard, he told them, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝. They had to hope the Iran strikes weren’t effective. They had to leak classified information. They had to spin every aspect of the mission—because making the president look bad mattered more than honoring the warriors who executed it.
He catalogued what America’s warriors actually accomplished: B-2 pilots flying 36-hour missions. Precision strikes from F-15s, F-16s, F-22s, and F-35s. Mid-air refueling under combat conditions. Patriot battery crews defending against incoming threats. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬—and the press corps spent the post-mission period casting doubt on the people who used them.
Classified information, Hegseth said, has been “leaked or peddled for political purposes” by people in that room, using their Pentagon access to damage the president. The result: 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 that set back Iran’s nuclear program “in ways that other presidents would have dreamed” was met with media spin and coordinated leaks. Operation Epic Fury opens the door to a peace deal and a nuclear-free Iran, something Trump has pursued for twenty years.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭.
M.A. Rothman
𝐇𝐄𝐆𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐏𝐒: 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐏 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐀 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐍After one of the most complex military operations in American history—Operation Epic Fury—SecDef Pete Hegseth stood at the Pentagon podium and delivered a verdict on the press corps so direct that no one in the briefing room could misread it.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘠𝘖𝘜,” Hegseth said, staring directly at the reporters. Because they cheer against Trump so hard, he told them, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝. They had to hope the Iran strikes weren’t effective. They had to leak classified information. They had to spin every aspect of the mission—because making the president look bad mattered more than honoring the warriors who executed it.
He catalogued what America’s warriors actually accomplished: B-2 pilots flying 36-hour missions. Precision strikes from F-15s, F-16s, F-22s, and F-35s. Mid-air refueling under combat conditions. Patriot battery crews defending against incoming threats. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬—and the press corps spent the post-mission period casting doubt on the people who used them.
Classified information, Hegseth said, has been “leaked or peddled for political purposes” by people in that room, using their Pentagon access to damage the president. The result: 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 that set back Iran’s nuclear program “in ways that other presidents would have dreamed” was met with media spin and coordinated leaks. Operation Epic Fury opens the door to a peace deal and a nuclear-free Iran, something Trump has pursued for twenty years.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭.
