Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used religious scripture during a Pentagon press briefing Thursday to launch an attack on news media, drawing parallels between reporters and the Pharisees who conspired against Jesus Christ.
Speaking to assembled journalists, Hegseth referenced a recent Sunday sermon about how religious leaders sought to undermine Jesus despite witnessing his miracles. The Defense Secretary’s remarks appeared aimed at pushing back against what he viewed as unfavorable media coverage of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran.
“Their hearts were hardened against Jesus,” Hegseth stated, quoting scripture, “and the Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel against him, how to destroy him.”
“I sat there in church and I thought, our press are just like these Pharisees,” Hegseth told the briefing room, clarifying he wasn’t targeting all journalists, just “the legacy, Trump-hating press.”
“The Pharisees scrutinized every good act in order to find a violation. Only looking for the negative. The hardened hearts of our press are calibrated only to impugn,” he continued.
The comments occurred as tensions escalate between President Trump and Pope Leo, the first American-born Catholic Church leader who has criticized the Iranian conflict. This week, Trump posted social media images showing Jesus embracing him and depicting himself in Christ-like imagery.
Both Hegseth and Trump have increasingly incorporated Christian terminology when discussing the war, describing the Easter Sunday rescue of a downed American pilot in Iran as miraculous. At a prayer gathering last month, Hegseth asked for troops to deliver “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”
According to John Fea, a Messiah University history professor specializing in evangelical politics, while American leaders have historically referenced Christian faith during wartime, the Trump administration stands out for its “stark, unequivocal religious language.”
The approach has deepened divisions with Pope Leo, who posted on social media shortly after Hegseth’s briefing: “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”
Hegseth regularly criticizes American news organizations, claiming bias against Trump. The Pentagon is currently appealing a federal court ruling that found its media credentialing restrictions unconstitutional after an extensive legal fight with news outlets.
