Pentagon follows White House in crude response to question about US defense secretary's tie
The Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell has responded with a vulgar joke to a question from a HuffPost journalist about the colours of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's tie, which resembled the Russian flag.
HuffPost journalist S.V. Dáte asked Parnell about the origin of Hegseth's tie, worn during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the White House, noting that its resemblance to the Russian tricolour had drawn attention from Kremlin propagandists.
"Your mom bought it for him – and it's a patriotic American tie, moron," Parnell said.
The journalist then followed up with a question asking if Hegseth – who frequently wears clothes made up of pieces of the US ensign – was aware of the US flag code, which prohibits using the flag as wearing apparel.
"If loving one's country enough to represent it head to toe is a crime in the eyes of the leftist blog known as HuffPost, then consider Secretary Hegseth guilty. He is a patriot who reveres this country and our flag," Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said.
This is not the first instance of near-vulgar communication between the White House and journalists.
Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Communications Director Steven Cheung replied to a Huffington Post reporter's question about who proposed Budapest as the venue for a potential meeting between the US and Russian leaders by saying: "Your mum."
Leavitt later shared a screenshot of the exchange, calling the journalist a "leftist hack" who "constantly bombards my phone with Democrat talking points".