https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pentagon-bars-press-photographers-over-171518245.html
Pentagon bars press photographers over ‘unflattering’ Hegseth photos
Scott Nover, (c) 2026 , The Washington Post
Wed, March 11, 2026 at 10:51 AM MST
The Defense Department has barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed “unflattering,” according to two people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
The March 2 briefing came days after a joint military strike on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. It was also the first time the defense secretary had appeared from the briefing room podium since June 26.
Several outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images sent photographers to the briefing from Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But after they published photos - which have broad reach because they are licensed by publications globally - members of Hegseth’s staff told colleagues that they did not like the way that the secretary looked. Hegseth’s aides decided to shut out photographers from the two subsequent briefings at the Pentagon, on March 4 and March 10, according to the two people familiar with the decision.
In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson wrote: “In order to use space in the Pentagon Briefing Room effectively, we are allowing one representative per news outlet if uncredentialed, excluding pool. Photographs from the briefings are immediately released online for the public and press to use. If that hurts the business model for certain news outlets, then they should consider applying for a Pentagon press credential.”
White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly declined to comment on Hegseth’s decision to shut out reporters.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has repeatedly sparred with the press since being confirmed at the outset of President Donald Trump’s second term. Tensions hit a fever pitch in October when hundreds of credentialed Pentagon reporters turned in their credentials and dozens walked out of the building after refusing to sign a policy prohibiting journalists from soliciting any information the government did not authorize.
The New York Times and one of its reporters, Julian E. Barnes, have sued the government alleging that the policy violated their constitutional protections of press freedom and due process. That case is ongoing, and a federal judge in Washington is weighing motions for summary judgment following Friday’s oral arguments.
After the mass exodus of reporters, which included The Post, a new, largely right-wing press corps signed on. They later received a December meet-and-greet with Hegseth and a press briefing with Wilson. But until last week, Hegseth had still not done an on-camera briefing for the new crop of media.
That changed after the strikes in Iran. Hegseth and Caine’s March 2 press briefing was initially meant to involve only newly credentialed media, but after the department requested a TV camera from the major broadcast networks, the journalists who had relinquished their badges negotiated an agreement to allow some of them in the briefing room, a lawyer for the Pentagon Press Association said in court Friday.
It is unclear whether one particular photo - or the sum total of the day’s shots - led to consternation among Hegseth’s staff. When photographers showed up for last Wednesday’s briefing they were not allowed in, according to two other people familiar with the situation who also spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
Since then, only the Defense Department’s staff photographers have been permitted into the briefings.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pentagon-bars-press-photographers-over-171518245.html
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(The US Secretary of Defense has never been this much of a snowflake.
It's frankly quite embarrassing. -- Suzi)
@Suzianne saidNo one can take his photograph anymore? It would be funny if news outlets started drawing a cartoony caricature of him and using it in published articles about his press briefings.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pentagon-bars-press-photographers-over-171518245.html
Pentagon bars press photographers over ‘unflattering’ Hegseth photos
Scott Nover, (c) 2026 , The Washington Post
Wed, March 11, 2026 at 10:51 AM MST
The Defense Department has barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with I ...[text shortened]... fense has never been this much of a snowflake.
It's frankly quite embarrassing. -- Suzi)[/i]
@wildgrass saidJust draw something like this:
No one can take his photograph anymore? It would be funny if news outlets started drawing a cartoony caricature of him and using it in published articles about his press briefings.
👅🍊🍩
Everyone knows it’s Heggy boy.
Well, or JD, or Rubio (although his shoes are too big), or that slug of a Southerner… tiny guy, sounds like he stepped out of Gone with the Wind…
In fact, it seems rather generic for any maga-mince-for-brains, now I come to think of it.
@Suzianne
both trump and hegseth have built up their egos based solely upon their looks
"how does it look on the tv?"
they are preening peacocks that think along the lines of an unshaven drooling maga ditch digger
but they look damn good doing it
anytime a picture is released that shows trump falling asleep in his own puke
anytime hegseth is caught combing his nose hairs
they drop another bomb onna fishing boat
how do i look?
am i pretty?
look at me flex!
i'm a STUD yall
edit: added the word "unshaven"
@rookie54 saidThis is post-waste, but was there atopic or apquestion here? Did it get written with no reference to ‘preening’ of Newsome..?
@Suzianne
both trump and hegseth have built up their egos based solely upon their looks
"how does it look on the tv?"
they are preening peacocks that think along the lines of an unshaven drooling maga ditch digger
but they look damn good doing it
anytime a picture is released that shows trump falling asleep in his own puke
anytime hegseth is caught combing his nose h ...[text shortened]...
how do i look?
am i pretty?
look at me flex!
i'm a STUD yall
edit: added the word "unshaven"
I’m just an observer, not my Baileywick,
I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something, something I can use
People love it when you lose, they love dirty laundry
Well, I could've been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear, give us dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em all around
We got the bubble-headed bleached-blonde, comes on at five
She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry
Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the newsroom got a running bet
"Get the widow on the set," we need dirty laundry
You don't really need to find out what's goin' on
You don't really wanna know just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone, keep your dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff, kick 'em all around
Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
We love to cut you down to size, we love dirty laundry
We can do "The Innuendo," we can dance and sing
When it's said and done, we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king, give us dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em all around
-- "Dirty Laundry", Don Henley, I Can't Stand Still, 1982
This was Pete Hegseth's last job, as a talking head for Fox News. He's not qualified to read the news, much less freaking out daily on the news, pushing the Trump-Iran War. Department of Defense. Every single person in the Trump administration is inept, and Trump and Hegseth lead the rest in their ineptitude.
@Suzianne saidIt's all about controlling the image. It's what The Donald does. Pete's always been his fawning acolyte, so no surprise there.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pentagon-bars-press-photographers-over-171518245.html
Pentagon bars press photographers over ‘unflattering’ Hegseth photos
Scott Nover, (c) 2026 , The Washington Post
Wed, March 11, 2026 at 10:51 AM MST
The Defense Department has barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with I ...[text shortened]... fense has never been this much of a snowflake.
It's frankly quite embarrassing. -- Suzi)[/i]
@wildgrass saidsupported!
No one can take his photograph anymore? It would be funny if news outlets started drawing a cartoony caricature of him and using it in published articles about his press briefings.