March 12, 2026

The DoD barred press photographers from war briefings after they published photos of Whiskey Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed “unflattering,” according to two people familiar with the decision who spoke to the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

Several outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images sent photographers to the briefing. But after they published photos, members of Hegseth’s staff told colleagues that they did not like the way that the secretary looked. The aides decided 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.

Luckily, there are enough unflattering photos of Pete Hegseth on Getty Images to last a lifetime

Parker Molloy (@parkermolloy.com) 2026-03-11T22:24:19.136Z

https://bsky.app/profile/artcandee.bsky.social/post/3mgshvpzsgk25

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