{"id":2394472,"date":"2025-01-23T17:42:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T22:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-bill-hagerty-blasts-the-medias-hegseth-smear-campaign\/"},"modified":"2025-01-23T17:43:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T22:43:27","slug":"sen-bill-hagerty-blasts-the-medias-hegseth-smear-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-bill-hagerty-blasts-the-medias-hegseth-smear-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Bill Hagerty Blasts The Media&#8217;s Hegseth Smear Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsen-bill-hagerty-blasts-the-medias-hegseth-smear-campaign%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2394472&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator\u2062 Bill Hagerty of\u200d Tennessee addressed the Senate, fiercely criticizing the media for\u200d its attempts to undermine Pete Hegseth&#8217;s nomination as Secretary \u200dof Defense. He accused\u2063 mainstream outlets of\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/twitter-files-6-shows-deep-state-went-deeper-than-just-fbi-twitter-collusion-2\/\" title=\"Twitter Files 6 Shows Deep State Went Deeper Than Just FBI-Twitter Collusion\">disseminating false information<\/a> to damage Hegseth&#8217;s character despite \u2062his qualifications. Hagerty\u2062 highlighted \u200cspecific accusations made in a recent\u2063 NBC News report involving a former sister-in-law, which Hegseth&#8217;s second ex-wife denies, arguing that the media buried this truth deep within their articles. \u200bHe labeled the actions of outlets like the New York Times as a\u200b &#8220;hit-job&#8221; and claimed that the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">ongoing negative portrayals<\/a> are part of a coordinated effort between the Democratic Party and the media to sabotage Trump&#8217;s nominees. Hagerty stated that the American public is growing weary of such misleading narratives, which contribute to a \u200dsignificant\u200c decline in media credibility. His comments coincided with \u2062the Senate&#8217;s procedural vote to move \u2064forward with Hegseth&#8217;s confirmation,which saw a narrow 51-49 decision,with some \u200bRepublicans voting\u2062 against it.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6z0FRkvjKKI\">PBS Newshour\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/23\/this-isnt-journalism-gop-sen-bill-hagerty-blasts-propaganda-medias-smear-campaign-against-pete-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=%E2%80%98This%20Isn%E2%80%99t%20Journalism%E2%80%99:%20GOP%20Sen.%20Bill%20Hagerty%20Blasts%20Propaganda%20Media%E2%80%99s%20Smear%20Campaign%20Against%20Pete%20Hegseth&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/23\/this-isnt-journalism-gop-sen-bill-hagerty-blasts-propaganda-medias-smear-campaign-against-pete-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=%E2%80%98This%20Isn%E2%80%99t%20Journalism%E2%80%99:%20GOP%20Sen.%20Bill%20Hagerty%20Blasts%20Propaganda%20Media%E2%80%99s%20Smear%20Campaign%20Against%20Pete%20Hegseth&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/23\/this-isnt-journalism-gop-sen-bill-hagerty-blasts-propaganda-medias-smear-campaign-against-pete-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/23\/this-isnt-journalism-gop-sen-bill-hagerty-blasts-propaganda-medias-smear-campaign-against-pete-hegseth\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=%E2%80%98This%20Isn%E2%80%99t%20Journalism%E2%80%99:%20GOP%20Sen.%20Bill%20Hagerty%20Blasts%20Propaganda%20Media%E2%80%99s%20Smear%20Campaign%20Against%20Pete%20Hegseth&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/23\/this-isnt-journalism-gop-sen-bill-hagerty-blasts-propaganda-medias-smear-campaign-against-pete-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>While speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., offered a scathing takedown of the propaganda media&rsquo;s disgusting attempts to tank Pete Hegseth&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-considering-desantis-as-defense-secretary-report-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump considering DeSantis as defense secretary: Report - Washington Examiner\">defense secretary nomination<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Despite Pete&rsquo;s qualifications, the mainstream media, desperate to derail President Trump and his nominees, has gone after Pete&rsquo;s character by airing false and unsubstantiated claims,&rdquo; Hagerty said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-159810667\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Tennessee Republican&rsquo;s remarks came in response to the corporate press&rsquo;s latest round of hit pieces against Hegseth.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, NBC News&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/21\/nbcs-latest-hit-piece-against-pete-hegseth-is-even-dumber-than-you-think\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>&nbsp;on an affidavit from Hegseth&rsquo;s former sister-in-law Danielle Diettrich Hegseth, who claimed without evidence that Pete engaged in threatening conduct that left his second ex-wife Samantha Hegseth fearful for her &ldquo;safety.&rdquo; It is only after readers get to the ninth paragraph of the article that they are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/22\/medias-regurgitation-of-baseless-hegseth-allegations-prove-they-learned-nothing-post-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">informed<\/a>&nbsp;that Samantha denies the allegations.<\/p>\n<p>In his Senate floor speech, Hagerty highlighted how The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/21\/us\/politics\/hegseth-senators-affidavit.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">article<\/a> on the non-troversy declined to mention Samantha&rsquo;s denial in its headline and how readers must read more than a dozen paragraphs into the story to learn the truth.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t journalism. &hellip; This is a hit-job,&rdquo; Hagerty said. &ldquo;The New York Times intentionally ran with a salacious and debunked account, buried the truth, and distorted the lede simply to undermine President Trump and his nominee.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Volunteer State Republican noted how numerous other left-wing outlets seeking to nuke Hegseth&rsquo;s confirmation quickly <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/22\/medias-regurgitation-of-baseless-hegseth-allegations-prove-they-learned-nothing-post-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regurgitated<\/a> the story with the same dishonest framing. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The American people are sick and tired of the deception stemming from this alliance between the Democrat Party and the so-called &lsquo;mainstream media,&rsquo;&rdquo; Hagerty said. &ldquo;This is yet another example of a story published with an aim to do harm, and despite evidence to the contrary. It&rsquo;s why media has lost much of its credibility with the American people who see this article for what it is: a desperate, last-minute attempt to generate controversy where none exist[s].&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hagerty&rsquo;s comments came shortly after the Senate voted to invoke <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/filibusters-cloture.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cloture<\/a> on Hegseth&rsquo;s nomination, teeing up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/times-up-founders-allegedly-helped-cuomo-discredit-accuser-lindsey-boylan-investigation-finds\/\" title=\"TIME\u2019S UP Founders Allegedly Helped Cuomo Discredit Accuser Lindsey Boylan, Investigation Finds\">final confirmation vote<\/a> for Friday evening. The procedural vote tally was 51-49, with GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/hegseth-senate-confirmation-vote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">siding<\/a> with Democrats in opposition. <\/p>\n<p>Both <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenatorCollins\/status\/1882517564435140987\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Collins<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/5102952-lisa-murkowski-pete-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Murkowski<\/a> announced on Thursday that they will not be supporting Hegseth&rsquo;s confirmation. Hegseth requires support from at least 50 senators to be confirmed as defense secretary.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"YDzQAX5p3U8vuj2HZiTqvNMRV1V1gTk6oEOcFdaFBDpE6mzm0h7ewbZJ9ULeOfWsSkwsaYS4Bbgxl\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128293;HOLY SMOKES: Sen. Bill Hagerty just went scorched earth on the Dem\/legacy media coordinated smear campaign on Hegseth:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The American people are sick and tired of the deception stemming from this alliance between the Democrat Party and the so-called mainstream media.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3JUhIim19V\">pic.twitter.com\/3JUhIim19V<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WesternLensman\/status\/1882521461182640225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bill-hagerty\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Bill Hagerty<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/defense-secretary\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Defense Secretary<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/media-lies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Media lies<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/military\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">military<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pentagon\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pentagon<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pete Hegseth<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/propaganda-media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">propaganda media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/senate-confirmation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Senate confirmation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/smear-campaign\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">smear campaign<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Bill Hagerty criticized the media&#8217;s efforts to undermine Pete Hegseth&#8217;s nomination for defense secretary, calling their claims false and misleading<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2394473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bill-Hagerty.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[49103,32490,33295,32171,49102],"class_list":["post-2394472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-hegseth-smear-campaign","tag-media-bias","tag-media-criticism","tag-political-commentary","tag-sen-bill-hagerty"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bill-Hagerty.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2394472"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2394480,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394472\/revisions\/2394480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2394473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2394472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2394472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2394472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}