WASHINGTON, April 16 - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used scripture on Thursday to criticize members of the news media, comparing reporters to the Jewish opponents of Jesus who conferred "how to destroy him," he said.
Hegseth made the remarks at the start of a Pentagon briefing on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. He framed his comments as a reaction to what he perceives as negative reporting about the conflict. The remarks arrived as an intensifying dispute between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo - identified in public statements as the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church and a critic of the war - took another turn.
Earlier this week, President Trump posted images on social media depicting Jesus embracing him and portraying the president in a Jesus-like manner. Against that backdrop, Hegseth, whose Christian faith has been an emphasis during his tenure at the Pentagon, said he reflected on a recent Sunday sermon about the Pharisees' efforts to undermine Jesus even after witnessing a miracle.
"The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel against him, how to destroy him," Hegseth quoted, saying that when he heard the passage in church he thought "our press are just like these Pharisees."
Speaking in the Pentagon briefing room in front of assembled journalists, Hegseth clarified he was not referring to all reporters but instead singled out what he called "the legacy, Trump-hating press." He added that the Pharisees, according to the sermon he cited, scrutinized every good deed to find fault, and characterized some in the media as similarly calibrated "only to impugn."
The defense secretary and the president have both used Christian language in recent days when describing events related to the conflict. Both men referred to the Easter Sunday rescue of a downed U.S. airman in Iran as a miracle. At a prayer service last month, Hegseth prayed for troops to be able to deliver what he described as "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy."
Commentary on faith in wartime is not new for U.S. administrations, but some commentators have noted differences in the Trump administration's use of stark, unequivocal religious language. John Fea, a history professor at Messiah University who has written on evangelicals and politics, remarked on the administration's distinctive rhetoric and noted it has also widened a rift with Pope Leo.
Tensions with the pope continued after the Pentagon briefing. Less than an hour after the conference ended, Pope Leo, who is from Chicago, posted on X: "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 is a frequent critic of the U.S. media, which he contends is biased against President Trump. He has been involved in a legal fight with news organizations over a Pentagon credentialing policy. A federal judge last month ruled that the policy violated the U.S. Constitution; the Pentagon is appealing that decision.
These developments intertwine messaging on the battlefield, public faith, and media relations at a moment of intensified coverage of the conflict with Iran. Hegseth's use of scripture to criticize journalists and the administration's public religious language underscore tensions between the Pentagon, the presidency, religious leaders and segments of the press.