A pro-MAGA reporter was has been fired her job after criticizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the way he handled the media at the Pentagon. Gabrielle Cuccia, a self-described 'MAGA girl' and longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, has never shied away from expressing her admiration for him.
However, during her time as the chief Pentagon correspondent for the pro-Trump network One America News, Cuccia published a tell-all article on her personal Substack, highlighting the shortcomings of Hegseth's leadership, which eventually led to her getting fired. "If you want the best case study for the death of the MAGA movement — look no further than the Department of Defense," she wrote.
Infuriating Hegseth
"People sleep on the Pentagon. They don't realize what's been simmering at the bottom for weeks, months, sometimes even years." Cuccia raised concerns that Hegseth began restricting media access following his Signal app controversy, where a journalist was mistakenly included in a group chat in which Hegseth shared sensitive details about an upcoming strike on Houthi targets in Yemen.
According to Cuccia, after the incident, Hegseth took steps to cut off important lines of communication between the media and his team in an attempt to "reduce the opportunity for in-person inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures."
"Think of every time you hear a journalist reference a source as "Defense Official" or something abstract... a lot of times, it's coming from these guys," she revealed about the Pentagon press office.
"And they are always there to provide additional context, field questions, and relay the reality of ops in an unclassified manner."
Cuccia's article was published on Monday, and by Thursday, she was asked by her employer to return her Pentagon access badge. The following day, she was fired, she told CNN.
In her piece, Cuccia criticized Hegseth for his lack of openness, accusing him of avoiding press briefings and claiming that his staff intentionally withheld details of his schedule until it was too late for journalists to attend.
"Over at the White House, the Administration understands the freedom of the press, and keeps the door open anyway," she said. "They would certainly not field questions *before* said press briefing."
Too Harsh a Punishment
Cuccia claimed that during one press briefing, members of Hegseth's team contacted her to find out what question she planned to ask if given the chance to speak at the conference. Believing they just wanted to be well-prepared for their first briefing and provide thorough answers, she shared her question. "Unfortunately, that was not the case," she said.
"This article isn't to serve as a tearing down of the SecDef," she wrote. "This is me wanting to keep MAGA alive. Despite my loyalty to this movement, we are killing ourselves."
Cuccia said the power behind the MAGA movement was sparked in 2015, when "America woke up" with a collective understanding that citizens would no longer treat the government's word as unquestionable truth.
However, she noted that since those early days, the movement has noticeably drifted away from its original principles.
"Somewhere along the way, we as a collective decided — if anyone ever questioned a policy or person within the MAGA movement — that they weren't MAGA enough.
"I will always be MAGA, but consider this a love letter to what we have lost, what we must regain, and my final plea to Love Your Country, Not Your Government."
Cuccia spoke out publicly for about her firing on Saturday, posting on Instagram: "I was once told that a former peer feared I was too MAGA for the job. I guess I was. I guess I am."
