After claiming that U.S. bombing in Iran “obliterated” the country’s nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump announced on social media that his “Secretary of Defense (War!)” Pete Hegseth was holding a new conference at the Pentagon “in order to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots.”
After Trump faced scrutiny for perhaps exaggerating the impact of the bombing, he tried to turn the media’s attention to the pilots and cast them as victims.
Trump added: “These Patriots were very upset! After 36 hours of dangerously flying through Enemy Territory, they landed, they knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times. They felt terribly!” and accused the two media outlets of lying and misrepresenting the facts for the “sole purpose of demeaning” Trump.
You can be sure that American combat pilots aren’t as thin skinned as Hegseth is and don’t feel their “dignity” has been damaged anyone. The combat pilots I know would probably care more about getting an apology from Hegseth for putting their lives at risk with his Signalgate… https://t.co/sHbC3YuAri
— Amy McGrath (@AmyMcGrathKY) June 25, 2025
Retired Lt. Col. Marine Corps. combat pilot Amy McGrath responded: “You can be sure that American combat pilots aren’t as thin skinned as Hegseth is and don’t feel their ‘dignity’ has been damaged anyone. The combat pilots I know would probably care more about getting an apology from Hegseth for putting their lives at risk with his Signalgate rather than this press conference making them look like crybabies.”
Note: McGrath, the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps, as well as the first to pilot the F/A-18 on a combat mission, flew 89 combat missions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. She is currently a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors.