CNN’s Jake Tapper threw a gigantic hissyfit over a supposed ‘slur’ used by War Secretary Pete Hegseth while the latter was discussing the mission-oriented focus of the military. Hegseth was campaigning on behalf of former Air Force officer Republican Zach Nunn’s reelection cycle at the Iowa State Fair when a single word became the entire focus of CNN’s hyperventilating reportage.
For context, Hegseth is no stranger to causing liberals and leftists to melt down over word choices. He has been adamantly focused on eliminating preferential treatments for Democrat in-groups, such as abolishing DEI at the Pentagon, and has been specifically focused on removing individuals claiming a transgender identity from military service.
In the now-viral clip, Tapper introduced the segment by feigning indignant outrage, just outright claiming what he heard was a slur and that it obviously meant the Trump administration simply dislikes transgender-identifying individuals. “Secretary Pete Hegseth went to Iowa to campaign. He was at the Iowa State Fair Monday, and he used a slur against trans people. Take a listen,” he said.
The clip then cut to Hegseth, where an edited version showed snippets of a longer campaign speech. “We need guys like this man right here having our back in Congress as we get rid of DEI at the Defense Department. At the Department of War, we do training, not trannies. The only focus of our department: colorblind, gender-neutral, merit-based. That’s it. We want the best,” the clip showed of Hegseth.
Returning to the CNN studio, Tapper then changed his mind about what bothered him most, suggesting that seeing Hegseth on the ground in Iowa for a congressional candidate was actually worse. “I mean, first of all, I’m still just not going to get over the fact of seeing like a current Secretary of Defense campaigning for somebody. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before,” he declared, completely glossing over his initial point.
The commentary was punted to a random woman in studio, who picked up where Tapper left off. “Correct. I mean, to your point, Jake, it’s not unusual for cabinet secretaries to campaign for candidates, but when it comes to members of the national security team, especially the Secretary of the War, Secretary of DOD, you do not typically see those people out there campaigning,” she explained.
“First of all, we are at war, so he should be focused on that in Washington D.C. A war that Trump started, but secondly, no, you don’t see that. Look, I will also say this, Jake. First of all, Iowa is very much a state in play, both at the governor level and the senatorial level this cycle. Obama won it in 2012. That’s the last time a Democrat won on the presidential campaign side in a presidential campaign,” she continued.
“But it’s a very, very, very marginal state for Republicans. Democrats have very good chances there this year. I think voters are sick and tired of this rhetoric. They are tired of the tariffs and how it’s impacting farmers. They’re tired of prices being high. This does not work. This strategy of like, oh, let’s play into the culture wars. Voters are sick and tired of it, especially the independent voters who will ultimately ultimately make the decision in these races in Iowa,” she finished.
As Tapper resumed speaking, he remembered what he was actually supposed to be upset about and returned to the idea of the supposed slur. “And I just also wonder, I mean, just calling transgender people trannies like that’s obviously a slur that they don’t like, and people can have their opinions on sports or whatever. But like, there is just something about, like, treating people with dignity,” he said, with no further explanation.
Watch Tapper melt down over the incident below:
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video