Reporter To Pete Hegseth: 'Why Not Acknowledge The Female Pilots That Also Participated In This Mission?'

At a Pentagon press briefing, Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth was asked about not acknowledging the female pilots on the Iran strike mission.

Transcript

00:00I want to acknowledge the female pilots that also participated in this mission.

00:04The early messages that you sent out only congratulated the boys.

00:08So when I say something like our boys and bombers, see this is the kind of thing the press does, right?

00:13Of course, the chairman mentioned a female bomber pilot. That's fantastic. She's fantastic. She's a hero.

00:18I want more female bomber pilots. I hope the men and women of our country sign up to do such brave and audacious things.

00:23But when you spin it as, because I say our boys and bombers as a common phrase, I'll keep saying things like that.

00:29Whether they're men or women, very proud of that female pilot.

00:32Just like I'm very proud of those male pilots.

00:34And I don't care if it's a male or a female in that cockpit and the American people don't care.

00:39But it's the obsession with race and gender in this department that's changed priorities.

00:46We don't do that anymore. We don't play your little games.

00:48Yes, right there.