WATCH: On CNN, Gallego Condemns Trump and Hegseth’s War in Iran, Attacks on the Free Press

WASHINGTON – Last night, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) joined CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront” where he called out Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempts to distract from the failures of the Trump administration’s war in Iran — including through his announced establishment of the so-called Office of Religious Affairs within the Department of Defense — and condemned the secretary’s attacks on the media for their coverage of the war, which he described as “treasonous.” The senator also expressed optimism for Democrats ahead of the coming midterm elections, especially in the Texas Senate race following reports that Republican candidate Ken Paxton alleged President Trump’s convention hurt his prospects. Watch: Erin Burnett OutFr o nt Read highlights from the interview below: On Hegseth calling Iran War media coverage “treasonous:” “One of the things we saw during the Iraq War was the weaponization of opinions about the war, when those opinions could have helped save a lot of our men and women. “Historically, let’s be honest: If we didn’t have the press, we would have been in the Vietnam War longer than we were. We would have seen some of these really bad atrocities being covered up by the military. There would have been abuses of some of our men and women in the military, whether it was the Navy, some of our aircraft carrier personnel, or others. “So, we need the press to actually be a good check when it comes to what happens to our men and women in the military. And that’s what scares [Hegseth]. It scares him because that’s the one area that he cannot control. “The fact is he is one of the most important reasons why we’re losing this war in Iran. It’s him and Donald Trump, but he can’t deal with that. So, he’s just going to blame y’all.” On Hegseth’s establishment of Office of Religious Affairs: “The thing that I think really makes me mad is that this is him weaponizing religion because he needs to distract from the fact that he’s losing a war. “So, this is just a distraction. Because, at this point, he is the worst Secretary of Defense that we’ve ever had in this country. Instead of actually trying to figure out how to win a war or get us out of this war, he’s just trying to throw more red meat and create more distractions.” On the coming midterm elections: “People are sick and tired of the chaos this administration has caused, and they are sick and tired of paying so much. And not having a candidate [in Texas], such as Paxton, who seems to even care about the fact that people are basically going broke while the Trump administration is in charge.”