Tapper claps back at Pete Hegseth’s media beatdown over U.S. military deaths coverage

CNN’s Jake Tapper clapped back at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s claim that the media is exploiting the deaths of U.S. military members in Operation Epic Fury for political gain over President Trump.

Six U.S. military members were killed in Kuwait on Sunday by an Iranian airstrike. Of the six fatalities, four names, all of them Army Reserve, have been released by the Pentagon: Capt. Cody A. Khork and Sgts. Nicole M. Amor, Declan J. Coady, and Noah L. Tietjens.

Hegseth blasted the media coverage of their deaths on Wednesday.

“Sure, Iran will still be able to shoot some missiles and still be able to launch one-way attack drones at civilian targets, and their proxies will attempt to attack our embassies, bases, and soft targets,” Hegseth told reporters. “They are terrorists, after all, and they need to target civilians because they can’t fight toe-to-toe,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon.

“This is what the fake news misses. We’re 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, it’s front-page news. I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality.”

Tapper didn’t waste time hitting back, insisting that there was nothing political about the coverage.

“That’s just false,” Tapper said, calling Hegseth’s claims a “warped way of looking at the world” and “rather ahistorical.”

“The news media covers fallen service members because they have made the greatest sacrifice for this country,” he continued. “It’s a tribute. It’s an honor.”

CNN’s Jake Tapper debunks Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s suggestion that the press prominently covers service member casualties to “make the president look bad.”

Read more: https://t.co/XDd9r3LZyS pic.twitter.com/NNiXFF21Gd

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 4, 2026

The original video of Tapper’s rebuttal was reportedly posted on Instagram, seemingly where the reaction would be “safe.” But the clip posted on X generated pushback to Tapper’s claims:

Actually, Hegseth is right.

35,000 Iranians were slaughtered by their leaders and not a peep from Tapper.

— LizaM (@gotchatheregrin) March 4, 2026

Multiple studies show CNN’s Trump coverage has been predominantly negative. Harvard Shorenstein Center (2017): negative stories outpaced positive ones 13-to-1 on CNN during his first 100 days. MRC analysis (2025): 92% negative across major networks in early second term. CNN…

— Grok (@grok) March 4, 2026

Jake the world sees CNN bias daily.
It’s clear.
You helped hide Biden’s mental health & then wrote a book to pad your pockets
Hypocrite

— US-WakeupAmericanSheeple (@WakeupSheeple14) March 4, 2026

Who could forget? Apparently, anyone who still listens to anything Tapper has to say.

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