Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has never been one to shy away from the spotlight or controversy, but his recent remarks about the press and his use of religious language have pushed him into the center of a heated national debate. Over the past week, as the United States, Iran, and Israel observed a fragile ceasefire and the world watched for signs of lasting peace, Hegseth’s words and actions have drawn both criticism and praise, highlighting the deep divisions in American society over war, faith, and the media’s role in democracy.
It all began on April 8, 2026, when Secretary Hegseth led a prayer service at the Pentagon. In front of assembled military personnel and press, he invoked a passage that sounded biblical but, as many quickly noted, was actually a creative riff on a famous line from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction. Hegseth introduced it as a prayer recited by “Sandy 1”—the call sign for the U.S. Air Force Combat Search and Rescue team that had just pulled off an extraordinary mission to save a downed airman trapped behind enemy lines in Iran earlier that month.
“They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,” Hegseth told his audience, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He continued, “It reads—and pray with me please—‘the path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of camaraderie and duty shepherds the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother, and you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee. Amen.’”
While some in the room nodded along, others recognized the unmistakable cadence and language of Samuel L. Jackson’s iconic monologue as Jules in Pulp Fiction. The actual verse from Ezekiel 25:17 is much shorter and more somber: “And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.” Tarantino and co-writer Roger Avary had famously expanded the line for cinematic effect, and Hegseth’s version swapped in military references, making it both a tribute to Hollywood and a nod to the real-life heroics of the rescue team.
To his credit, Hegseth acknowledged that the prayer wasn’t a word-for-word Bible quote, but the blending of scripture, pop culture, and military valor raised eyebrows. As The Hollywood Reporter put it, the Secretary “probably thought it just sounded like a Bible-inspired ‘cold-blooded thing to say’ without being aware it was largely a Hollywood creation.” The moment was a window into Hegseth’s style: brash, performative, and unapologetically American.
But the controversy didn’t end there. Just a few days later, on April 12, Hegseth used a church service to launch a pointed attack on the press covering the war in Iran. Drawing once again from the Bible, he compared members of the media—especially those critical of former President Trump—to the Pharisees, the religious elite who, in the Gospels, sought to undermine Jesus even as they witnessed his miracles.
“This past Sunday, I was sitting in church with my family, and our minister preached from the book of Mark, the third chapter, and in the passage, Jesus entered a synagogue and healed a man with a withered hand,” Hegseth told reporters, as reported by Deadline. “The Pharisees came to watch, and as the scripture reads, they came to see whether Jesus would heal him … on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. You see the Pharisees, the so-called and self-appointed elites of their time, they were there to witness, to write everything down to report, but their hearts were hardened. Even though they witnessed a literal miracle, it didn’t matter. They were only there to explain away the goodness in pursuit of their agenda.”
He continued, “As the passage ends, 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, not all of you, not all of you, but the legacy Trump-hating press.’ Your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors. The Pharisees scrutinized every good act in order to find a violation, only looking for the negative.”
Hegseth’s criticism wasn’t limited to abstract comparisons. He accused the media of ignoring the “historic and important success” of American troops, specifically the rescue mission in Iran, and focusing instead on negative stories. “I can’t help but notice the endless stream of garbage, the relentlessly negative coverage you cannot resist pedaling, despite the historic and important success of this effort and the success of our troops,” he said. He also claimed that media outlets had “explained away the disastrous and disgraceful Afghanistan withdrawal” during President Biden’s administration, despite widespread coverage of the tragic events at Kabul airport and the lasting political fallout for Biden.
Hegseth’s combative stance comes as the Pentagon faces legal setbacks over its attempts to restrict press access. Last week, a federal judge ruled that new policies implemented under Hegseth—such as relocating reporter workspaces outside the Pentagon and limiting reporting to authorized releases—violated the Constitution. The ruling was a clear rebuke, reinforcing the press’s right to report freely on matters of national security and military affairs.
The intersection of religion, politics, and media took another turn earlier this week when former President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image on Truth Social depicting himself as a Christ-like figure healing a sick man. The image was quickly removed after backlash, and Trump later claimed he thought it showed him as a doctor. The episode added fuel to the ongoing debate about the use of religious imagery and symbolism in American political life.
Amidst all this, a powerful voice weighed in from the Vatican. On April 16, Pope Leo posted a message on X (formerly Twitter), pointedly condemning the manipulation of faith for political and military ends. “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,” the pontiff wrote—an excerpt from a speech he delivered in Cameroon the previous Thursday. The timing and tone of the message left little doubt that the Pope was responding to the swirl of events in Washington and the broader trend of religious rhetoric in political discourse.
As the U.S., Iran, and Israel inch toward a possible diplomatic breakthrough, the debate over how war is covered, how faith is invoked, and who gets to shape the narrative remains as fierce as ever. For Secretary Hegseth and his supporters, the media’s skepticism is proof of bias; for journalists and critics, it’s a necessary safeguard against propaganda and unchecked power. And for millions of Americans caught in the middle, the spectacle is both exhausting and revealing—a reminder that in times of crisis, words matter as much as actions, and the line between faith, fiction, and fact can be perilously thin.