White House Reacts to Pete Hegseth's Remarks Over US Troop Deaths

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday pushed back against criticism of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he took the media to task earlier in the day over the deaths of six U.S. service members, accusing reporters of mischaracterizing his remarks and of seeking to portray President Donald Trump negatively.

On Wednesday morning, Hegseth said, in part, during a press conference, “This is what the fake news misses. We've taking control of Iran's airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen its front-page news. I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad but try for once to report the reality."

When asked by CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins who asserted that Hegseth was “complaining” about the media coverage of the Iran War troop deaths in Kuwait, Leavitt replied sharply, “That’s not what the secretary said and meant, and you know it. You know you are being disingenuous.”

Collins replied with Hegseth’s direct quote, and Leavitt said, “The press does only want to make the president look bad. That’s a fact. Especially you.”

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

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This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 2:50 PM.