Leftist critics have been piling on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for month, doling out wild accusations including wide-ranging claims of misogyny.

As the media continued looking for new ways to disparage the Trump administration, one reporter seized on Hegseth’s remarks about the recent military operation in Iran.

According to the Daily Caller, Hegseth couldn’t hold back his laughter in response to the question he received at the recent press conference:

A reporter accused Hegseth of “only congratulating the boys” after he used the phrase “our boys in those bombers” in a June 22 statement regarding the strikes of the nuclear sites. Hegseth said his Defense Department (DOD) will not give in to the media’s “obsession” with race, gender and other identities.

“Why not acknowledge the female pilots at all who also participated in this mission? The early messages that you sent out only congratulated the boys,” the reporter said.

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“So when I say something like ‘our boys in bombers.’ See this is the kind of thing the press does, right? Of course, the chairman mentioned a female bomber pilot,” Hegseth said. “That’s fantastic, she’s fantastic. She’s a hero. I want more female bomber pilots. I hope the men and women of our country sign up to do such brave and audacious things. But when you spin it because I say ‘our boys in bombers’ as a common phrase, I’ll keep saying things like that. Men or women, I’m very proud of that female pilot, just like I’m very proud of those male pilots. And I don’t care if it’s a male or a female in that cockpit and the American people don’t care. But it’s the obsession with race and gender in this department that’s changed priorities. We don’t do that anymore, we don’t play your little games.”

His reaction received widespread social media praise:

Way to slap that down!

— howy (@howy333) June 26, 2025

He is exceeding my expectations

— Annie (@anieborden1) June 26, 2025

Ouch Hegseth has learnt how to deal with the press
I love it

— mind talks (@mind_talkss) June 26, 2025

Mediaite provided some characteristically critical background on the media’s coverage of Hegseth’s original statement:

During a Sunday morning press conference following the attack, Hegseth heaped praise on President Donald Trump and the military campaign that saw six “bunker buster” bombs dropped on key nuclear sites in the country. He also casually called the B-2 pilots who dropped the 15-ton bombs on targets in Iran “our boys on those bombers,” which instantly got the Gray Lady in high dudgeon.

A live blog covering the events for the New York Times noted the gendered language and wrote, “In the briefing, Hegseth referred to B-2 pilots as ‘our boys on those bombers,’ yet both men and women have been trained to fly them.” This brought predictable ire and ridicule from conservative-leaning outlets.

Just after Hegseth insulted his former Fox News colleague Jennifer Griffin for being “one of the worst” to apparently not give Trump enough credit, he was asked by an unidentified female reporter about his comments.

Here’s a full clip of Hegseth’s press conference:

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.

View the original article here.