WASHINGTON DC — The Pentagon and White House launched a blistering attack on CNN on Friday over its coverage of the ongoing US war with Iran, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling a recent report “patently ridiculous” and openly wishing for an ally of President Donald Trump to take over the news network.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, spent part of a press conference on US military operations against Tehran criticizing the media and CNN in particular. He urged for what he called an “actual patriotic press”.
The Defense Secretary was particularly incensed by a CNN story suggesting Washington had underestimated Iran’s ability to disrupt global oil traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
“Fake news from CNN reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz. Patently ridiculous, of course. For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage,” Hegseth said. “CNN doesn’t think we thought of that? It’s a fundamentally unserious report”.
He added: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better”.
David Ellison is the head of Paramount Skydance, which is set to complete a landmark takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the current owner of CNN.
His father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, is a longtime ally and financial backer of President Trump.
White House Joins Attack
The White House also blasted CNN’s reporting. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to X to declare: “This story is 100% FAKE NEWS”.
“The Pentagon has been planning for Iran’s desperate and reckless closure of the Strait of Hormuz for DECADES, and it has been part of the Trump Administration’s planning well before Operation Epic Fury was ever launched,” Leavitt stated.
The administration’s pushback on CNN comes amid increasing tensions between the cable news channel and allies of the president as the war stretches into its third weeK.
Earlier this week, White House communications director Steven Cheung blasted a CNN segment he argued was sympathetic to the Iranian regime, accusing the network of becoming “the murderous Iranian Regime’s version of Pravda” after it aired an interview with a former Iranian nuclear negotiator.
CNN Stands By Reporting
In response to the latest attacks, CNN chief Mark Thompson said that “our only interest is in telling the truth to our audiences in the US and around the world and no amount of political threats or insults is going to change that”.
A CNN spokesperson told The Hill, “We stand by our reporting”.
The network also defended its decision to air portions of a statement from Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, noting that “purported remarks from Iran’s new supreme leader are a critical component in helping audiences understand where this conflict is heading and were aired for their obvious news value”.
The White House had earlier slammed CNN for airing the statement, posting on social media: “Fake news CNN just aired four straight minutes of uninterrupted Iranian state TV, run by the same psychotic and murderous regime that prided itself on brutally slaughtering Americans for 47 years”.
Trump himself has frequently lashed out at CNN reporters, particularly anchor Kaitlan Collins, whom he scolded in February for failing to “smile” when asking about the victims of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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