CNN anchor Jake Tapper has slammed Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt after she said that media coverage of the U.S. troops killed in Iran was meant to make President Donald Trump “look bad.”
Speaking on CNN’s “The Lead,” Tapper called the claim “the height of solipsism and narcissism.” He was joined by co-host Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday as they discussed the political situation after Trump launched Operation Epic Fury on Saturday.
The operation followed a retaliatory attack after an Iranian drone strike killed six American soldiers at an operations center inside a civilian port. The facility, miles from the main Army base, was reportedly a shipping-container-style structure with limited security.
Earlier on the show, Tapper referenced similar comments made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a highly publicized Pentagon briefing.
According to PBS News, Hegseth said the U.S. has spared “no expense or capability” in strengthening air defense systems to protect American troops and allies across the Middle East.
View this post on Instagram
Speaking at the Pentagon, he made these remarks just days after the strike. President Donald Trump and senior defense officials have warned that additional American casualties are possible in a war that could last for months.
Tapper called out Hegseth’s words, describing them as a “warped way of looking at the world.” He then asked co-host Collins about Karoline Leavitt’s response to a question Collins posed during Wednesday’s White House press briefing.
Collins said reporting on the deaths of U.S. service members has nothing to do with trying to damage Trump’s reputation.
“It obviously goes without saying that covering the deaths of these service members has nothing to do with President Trump personally, just as it didn’t with other presidents,” Collins said.
Tapper agreed with her comments and criticized the administration’s tone, saying it was disrespectful to the families of the fallen service members.
Tragedy that journalists have to explain Trump quotes – he often rambles and says they , them
So US did not expect Iran to strike back ? Seriously left their GCC allies vulnerable? https://t.co/CaAaOwmLSI
— Nidhi Bahuguna 𑆤𑆴𑆣𑆴🇮🇳 (@vinirish) March 3, 2026
“It’s incredibly offensive,” Tapper said. “I don’t care what they think about us. It’s offensive to the families who deserve coverage.” The 56-year-old journalist reaffirmed his stance.
“It really is the height of solipsism and narcissism to think that our coverage of fallen warriors has anything to do with our– how we cover a president,” he said.
Under “Operation Epic Fury,” the US and Israel launched what officials described as one of their most important attacks on Iran. It killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian media said Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, son-in-law and daughter-in-law were killed as well. Iran’s army chief of staff, General Abdol Rahim Mousavi, and defence minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh were later added to the list of names.
Donald Trump addressed the media after the strike. He urged the Iranians to capitalize on the attack as “the only chance for a generation” to take over the decades-old terrorizing of the government.
Apart from Tehran, US strikes also targeted places like Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah, Qum, and Tabriz. Amidst a global outcry, Donald Trump said that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.
View this post on Instagram
According to the opposition, the channel Iran International, cited by Israeli outlet N12 News, Mojtaba Khamenei, one of the sons of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been named as Iran’s next successor by the Assembly of Experts.
