
The storm surrounding Pete Hegseth’s choice of words for our military pilots raises the curtain on the larger battle—political correctness concerning military expression.
At a Glance
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the pilots of the successful U.S. strike on Iran, calling them “our boys on those bombers.”
- A New York Times reporter criticized the phrase, pointing out that women also fly B-2 bombers.
- The “fact-check” was met with widespread social media backlash, mocking the focus on semantics over a successful military operation.
- Hegseth defended his comment as a common, traditional expression of pride and patriotism.
Patriotism in the Crosshairs
During a recent Pentagon briefing, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praised the military personnel who carried out the successful strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. He lauded the mission as a demonstration that “American deterrence is back” and commended the skill of the B-2 bomber pilots.
In his remarks, Hegseth used a common, time-honored phrase to express his pride: “our boys on those bombers.” For most, it was a simple expression of gratitude. For the “woke” media, however, it was an opportunity to pounce.
The Media’s Obsession with Semantics
Almost immediately, New York Times Pentagon reporter John Ismay took to social media to “fact-check” the Defense Secretary. “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,” Ismay posted, in a critique reported by the New York Post.
The comment was immediately met with a torrent of online ridicule, with users blasting the reporter and the Times for focusing on trivial, politically correct semantics instead of a major national security success. The backlash highlighted a growing public frustration with a media class seemingly more concerned with policing language than reporting on what truly matters.
Hegseth and a Nation Push Back
Secretary Hegseth, a decorated combat veteran himself, refused to be cowed by the media’s misplaced criticism. He defended his remark, not with an apology, but with a straightforward appeal to common sense and tradition.
“’Our boys in bombers’ is a common phrase,” Hegseth stated, according to a report from Louder with Crowder. “I’m very proud of that female pilot. I don’t care if it’s a male or a female, and neither do the American people.”
His response encapsulates the sentiment of many Americans who are tired of seeing every issue, including praise for the military, filtered through a hypersensitive, progressive lens. The incident reveals a stark disconnect between a media elite obsessed with policing language and a public that understands and values patriotic tradition. Rather than celebrating a mission that made America safer, the focus was diverted to a non-controversy, proving once again where the priorities of the legacy media truly lie.