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 colleaguesthat they did not like the way that the secretary looked. Hegseth’s aidesdecided 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.
Right. It was the staffers who complained.
No, it was him. Recall this:
Meanwihle, we’re at war, the government is violating everyone’s civil rights and the economy is in the dumper but:
I saw an article yesterday in The Telegraph about Trump coercing his staff to wear the same shoes as him. At first, I thought it had to be a joke. This is such a classic dictator trope — forcing subordinates to copy your style — that it couldn’t possibly be real. For instance, look at Mao Zedong and the “Mao Suit,” Saddam Hussein and “The Mustache”, or Joseph Stalin and the “Generalissimo Uniform.” I dropped photos below. The phenomenon is so well documented that I assumed this was a parody.
But apparently… it is not. Donald Trump reportedly has a footwear fetish. He’s testing the loyalty of his lieutenants by whether they’ll lace up in the same black shoes he wears. And yes, it’s creepy.
Just take a look at the names of the folks who are now dutifully wearing Donald Trump’s preferred footwear. JD Vance. Marco Rubio. Pete Hegseth. Sean Duffy. Howard Lutnick. Sean Hannity. Lindsey Graham. These people are now allegedly sporting $145 Florsheim oxfords at Trump’s behest. One unnamed cabinet secretary shelved his Louis Vuittons, according to The Telegraph, lest he offend Trump by donning shoes the president didn’t want him to wear.
“All the boys have them,” one female White House official told the Wall Street Journal, and another added that “everybody’s afraid not to wear them
I need a drink.