Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went off the rails Thursday, turning what should have been a straightforward Pentagon briefing into a rambling, combative attack on the free press—complete with a bizarre comparison between journalists and biblical villains.
About halfway through a 10-minute monologue, Hegseth abruptly pivoted from discussing U.S. military operations against Iran to berating reporters for what he called insufficiently “positive” coverage of the Trump administration’s actions.
“I just can’t help but notice the endless stream of garbage,” Hegseth snapped, accusing the press of pushing “relentlessly negative coverage” despite what he claimed were major successes by U.S. forces. He went even further, questioning reporters’ patriotism: “Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what side some of you are actually on—it’s incredibly unpatriotic.”
The former Fox News personality didn’t stop there. He accused journalists of hypocrisy, claiming they had “bent over backwards” to praise the Biden administration’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal—an operation carried out under a deal negotiated during Donald Trump’s first term.
But the briefing took a truly surreal turn when Hegseth invoked a Sunday church sermon to make his point.
Recalling a New Testament story about Pharisees observing Jesus perform a miracle, Hegseth likened modern reporters to the religious figures often portrayed as antagonists in the Bible.
“They were there to witness, to write everything down… but their hearts were hardened,” he said. “I sat there in church and I thought, our press are just like these Pharisees.”
While he added a token “not all of you,” Hegseth zeroed in on what he called the “legacy Trump-hating press,” accusing journalists of being so politically biased that they are “nearly completely blind” to what he described as the “brilliance” of U.S. troops and leadership.
He continued to lash out, claiming reporters have “hardened hearts” and are “calibrated only to impugn,” while ignoring what he framed as a “historic moment” in confronting Iran.
“Where’s the coverage of the new spirit in the country?” he demanded. “Nothing from the fake news… you only seek the negative.”
Hegseth’s meltdown is just the latest in a pattern. Since taking over at the Pentagon, he has repeatedly attacked journalists, even pushing efforts to remove them from long-established workspaces inside the building.
His comments also come as Donald Trump faces backlash for his own use of religious imagery—particularly a series of AI-generated images depicting himself as a Christ-like figure.
Earlier this week, Trump sparked outrage after posting an image of himself as Jesus on Truth Social, alongside a string of late-night posts attacking Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born leader of the Catholic Church. The post was eventually deleted following backlash, but Trump later doubled down with another image showing himself embraced by Jesus.
The irony wasn’t lost on observers: Hegseth condemned an Iranian propaganda video depicting Jesus condemning Trump as “disgusting,” while defending similar religious imagery used by his own political allies.
Meanwhile, tensions between the Trump administration and Pope Leo XIV continue to escalate. The pontiff recently criticized world leaders for prioritizing war over peace, warning against the use of religion to justify violence.
In a pointed message widely seen as a rebuke to figures like Hegseth, Leo wrote: “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain.”
The episode underscores a growing pattern: a Pentagon chief more focused on attacking reporters than answering questions—and increasingly willing to wrap political grievances in religious rhetoric.
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