Pete Hegseth Trashes CNN Over Iran War Report: 'The Sooner David Ellison Takes Over That Network, The Better'Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday used his Pentagon press briefing to attack the media, taking issue, among other things, with a CNN report saying that the Trump administration underestimated just how willing Iran would be to close the Strait of Hormuz during their planning for the war.Hegseth dismissed the report as "patently ridiculous.""For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn't think we thought of that. It's a fundamentally unserious report," Hegseth said. "The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better."Paramount CEO David Ellison, the son of Trump's billionaire ally Larry Ellison, recently reached an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, after an intense bidding war.Ellison recently addressed the fears about what Paramount's takeover would mean for CNN given the changes underway at CBS News following his acquisition of Paramount.“Editorial independence will actually be maintained,” he told CNBC last week. “It’s maintained at CBS, it’ll be maintained at CNN.”Hegseth: No quarter, no mercy for our enemies. Yet some in the press just can't stop. More fake news from CNN reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war's impact on the strait of hormuz. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better. pic.twitter.com/BehjVYK0Hy— Acyn (@Acyn) March 13, 2026See All UpdatesClose