Pete Hegseth's Pentagon has found a curious new way to reach the public, and it barely touches on the war.
On Thursday, U.S. Central Command, the military’s headquarters for the Iran war, debuted a podcast dubbed “Inside CENTCOM,” The Daily Beast reported. Its release came half a year after Hegseth last stood at a Pentagon podium to take reporters’ questions, with the war now dragging past its eighth month.
The show is meant "to introduce the incredible warfighters that make up thousands of troops protecting America forward in the Middle East," according to its YouTube description. Comments on the video have been turned off.
Fleet Master Chief Lateef Compton, the command’s top enlisted service member, serves as host. He told viewers the series would let them “get to know the incredible people that make up our team.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands CENTCOM and has stood beside Hegseth as a spokesman for the Trump administration’s “Operation Epic Fury,” sat down for the premiere. Cooper last briefed reporters on May 4, according to The Daily Beast, and Hegseth hasn’t held a formal Pentagon briefing since May 5.
The war itself got little airtime. Over roughly 12 minutes, the pair chatted about staying in shape, shooting hoops aboard ships and what’s served in the galley, The Daily Beast noted, describing a set that borrowed its look from Zach Galifianakis’ “Between Two Ferns.”
"First and foremost, we've got a great team, and I just couldn't be prouder of all the work that everyone is doing," Cooper said. "For sure, no one could have imagined the trajectory of events that we would be on, but through it, everyone has been doing a fantastic job."
Not everyone was impressed. Washington Times Pentagon reporter Mike Glenn responded to CENTCOM's announcement on X by writing, "A press conference with the admiral would also be much appreciated," according to The Daily Beast.
CENTCOM did not immediately reply after the Pentagon directed The Daily Beast’s questions there.
The podcast arrives with Hegseth’s own job in jeopardy. Republicans were routed in Tuesday’s midterms, and Trump has reportedly considered pushing out his defense secretary to avoid taking the blame himself for a war that he and Vice President JD Vance both cited as a key reason Democrats ran up the score.