Pentagon follows White House with rude response to question about US defense secretary's tie

The Pentagon's chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, responded with a vulgar "joke" when a HuffPost journalist asked about the colours of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's tie, which resembled the Russian flag.

Source: HuffPost, an American news and opinion website, as reported by European Pravda

Details: HuffPost journalist S.V. Dáte asked Parnell about the tie Hegseth wore 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.

Quote from Parnell: "Your mom bought it for him – and it's a patriotic American tie, moron."

More details: The journalist followed up by asking if Hegseth was aware of the US flag code, which prohibits using the flag as "wearing apparel".

Quote from Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson: "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."

More details: This is not the first time the White House's communication with journalists has bordered on rudeness.

Last week, when a HuffPost reporter asked who suggested Budapest as the venue for a potential meeting between the US and Russian leaders, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Communications Director Steven Cheung replied: "Your mom did."

Leavitt later shared a screenshot of the exchange, calling the journalist a "left-wing hack" who "constantly bombards my phone with Democrat talking points".

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