He wanted to present evidence of the success of the American attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, pushing back against a preliminary defence intelligence assessment that suggested the strikes were less effective.
And he wanted to berate the American media and paint their coverage of that preliminary report as unpatriotic and disrespectful to the “brave men and women” in the US military.
It was a briefing aimed at winning over divided public opinion on the attacks – and to satisfy an audience of one in the White House, who has been railing against the media coverage for days.
The former goal is still in question, but the latter seems to have been a mission accomplished.
“One of the greatest, most professional, and most ‘confirming’ News Conferences I have ever seen!” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social after Hegseth concluded.
