‘We Don’t Play Your Little Games’: Hegseth Smokes Reporter Asking Why He Didn’t Mention Female Pilot | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Virginia Kruta.

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid into a reporter who asked why he hadn't specifically congratulated the female pilots who had been a part of the United States' recent strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities after they stated: "The early messages that you sent out only congratulated 'the boys.'"

    Hegseth, in the hours after the mission had been completed, touted the success of "our boys on those bombers" - and The New York Times, among others, complained that not all of those involved had been male.

    Times Pentagon reporter John Ismay, most notably, 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."

    When that topic came up during Thursday morning's briefing, Hegseth bowed his head slightly, laughing, before responding.

    WATCH:

. @SecDef gave the PERFECT response when asked"Why not acknowledge female pilots that participated, early messages congratulated the boys?" pic.twitter.com/BAqwj6bfdV

— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) June 26, 2025

    "Why not acknowledge the female pilots that also participated?" the reporter asked. "The early messages that you sent out only congratulated 'the boys.'"

    "So, when I say something like 'our boys in bombers' - see, this is the kind of thing the press does," Hegseth replied. "Of course, the Chairman mentioned a female bomber pilot. 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," he continued. "But when you spin it as because I say 'our boys in bombers' as a common phrase - I'll keep saying things like that, whether they're men or women. I'm very proud of that female pilot, just like I'm very proud of those male pilots."

    "I don't care if it's a male or a female in the cockpit, and the American people don't care," he concluded. "But it's the obsession with race and gender in this department that's changed priorities, and we don't do that anymore. We don't play your little games."

poll#220

Regarding the recent Israel /Iran Conflict (the "12 Day War"), culminating in the United States Air Force employing seven B2 Bombers to complete a 33 hour flight, dropping 14 fifteen ton bunker busting bombs on three Iranian nuclear facilities buried deep under mountain rock, which destroyed Iran's nuclear ambitions against Israel and the United States: Should President Trump have unilaterally made the decision to make such a bold decision to conduct this operation, without first running this prospective operation before the US Congress for their approval?

  No, The War Powers Act prohibitions, which requires NO presidential military action without congressional approval.

  Yes, the President has Article 2 Constitutional authority to take unilateral military action to protect the American People, providing he does not break congressional codes, which he did not.

  Don't care, never have.

25 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

poll#201

Considering what real news is available for all to witness, and in great specificity, should one pursue what is true outside of the channeled realm of the corrupt corporate /legacy media, and: Is Institutionalized Corruption real, and is it a hindrance to sustaining our Constitutional Republic now, and for future generations of American citizens?

  Yes

  No

  Not sure

475 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

poll#218

Now that President Trump is picking his cabinet and immediate staff to insulate him from the poor judgement of the Bureaucratic Class, while moving quickly to transition this Constitutional Republic unto a wise and sustainable direction: What is your immediate impression as to how our nation will prosper?

  We are headed toward a Golden Age in America's self-governed society.

  This will all wind up in a clustered mess since Trump is a Fascist, and thought to be the second coming of Adolf Hitler by our best journalists.

  This is a time where critical days lay ahead, where only wise and responsible decisions must be made to sustain US.

  I generally do not pay attention, but expect only the best to occur ... and that is what I always expect.

101 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?