OPINION
Premium

CNN Says Hegseth Will Force Them to Attack Him Like They Have Been, and No Kings Confusion Reigns

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Oct 17, 2025
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership!

Reporting on the Mirror – CNN

  • The press attacking Hegseth vows to attack Hegseth.

In what may be an example that most typifies this category, Kaitlan Collins interviewed longtime CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr about the upheaval at the Department of War (DOW) this week. Dozens of media outlets saw their reporters turn in their press badges this week, and the outrage still outstrips the offense.

Starr reiterates that the “new” standards Secretary of War Pete Hegseth installed were unacceptable – as she says they have never previously been permitted in classified locations, and had always been issued press badges to wear. 

Okay…then why is his mandating that those rules are to be followed considered unacceptable?!

Recommended

Oh, God, This Woman Again? CNN Guest Made Some Mind-Blowing Remarks About Red States and JD Vance's Wife Matt Vespa
How Karoline Leavitt Responded to This HuffPo Reporter Was Total Perfection Matt Vespa

The best is that Starr declares they will still be able to report on the Pentagon and Hegseth. (So, again — why the loud outrage these past weeks?) She also delivers something of a veiled threat, saying that, “I think he’s about to potentially run into a buzzsaw of trouble.”

Reporting on the Mirror – CBS NEWS

  • The first sign of change is seen.

After taking over the reins of the news division last week, Bari Weiss has been under intense criticism from many in the journalism environment. The word came out today that she has made her first staff move, as the head of the news division’s Standards & Practices Office, Claudia Milne, is departing.   

Border-line Obsession – THE NEW YORK TIMES

  • He was part of the October 7 attacks, but THIS is the label he gets?!

News from The Deep South is that an illegal was picked up for falsifying data on his visa application and — oh, small matter — was also involved in the terror attack on Israel on October 7. 

Despite these disturbing details, The New York Times still saw fit to describe him as a “Louisiana Man” in Abrego Garcia fashion.

Pathological Media Amnesia – MSNBC

  • Anyone saying this is out of line, right, Joe?

Leave it to Joe Scarborough to get outraged over anyone besmirching the honor of anyone attending the No Kings Protest this weekend. The “Morning Joe” host was just perturbed to the highest order over anyone calling other patriots “unAmerican”!

You know, just like Scar-Joe did in the past when describing those who support President Trump.

Prose & Contradiction – THE BULWARK

  • Make sure you bring the correct flag, Billy!

Also swooning with anticipation over the protests this weekend was conservative turncoat Bill Kristol. He was trying to lash out at anyone who dared suggest that the No Kings Protest could be deemed a “We Hate America Rally.”

Now, see, Bill, there is a small discrepancy here. We recall the last time there was a No Kings Protest, and curiously there were plenty of flags seen that were decidedly NOT American flags.