Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth strongly criticized the American press during a Pentagon. He accused journalists of unfair reporting and used a comparison from the Bible that is now being closely watched.
This comes as President Donald Trump is still facing criticism over his handling of foreign affairs and his comments about religion.
Over the weekend, Trump shared an image created by AI that showed him as Jesus Christ on his social media platform, Truth Social. The post was removed after people expressed disapproval.
While Hegseth was giving updates about the situation with Iran, he took a break from talking about policy to speak directly to the reporters.
“To the American media,” he said, “I can’t help but notice the constant flow of bad news, the never-ending negative stories you keep pushing.” He added, “Sometimes it’s hard to tell what side you really are on. It’s really unpatriotic.”
Hegseth then talked about going to church with his family and mentioned a sermon from the Gospel of Mark.
He compared modern journalists to the Pharisees in the story.
“This past Sunday, I was at church with my family, and our minister read from the Book of Mark, chapter three.
In the passage, Jesus went into a synagogue and healed a man with a crippled hand.”
“The Pharisees came to watch, and as the Bible says, they wanted to see if Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath so they could accuse him.
You see, the Pharisees, who were the so-called leaders of their time, were there to watch, to record everything, to report. But their hearts were not open,” Hegseth said.
“Even though they saw a real miracle, it didn’t matter.
They were there only to find reasons to explain away the good things in order to support their own goals,” Hegseth continued. “I sat there in church, and I thought, ‘These reporters are like these Pharisees.’ Not all of you, but the ones who constantly criticize Trump.”
Federal agencies have expressed worries about how the administration is using religious references.
Some employees have said they feel uncomfortable with the growing focus on Christianity in official settings, as reported in recent news. Critics believe these actions might cause problems with the Constitution’s rule about keeping church and government separate.
There are also tensions overseas.
The administration has had disagreements with Pope Leo XIV, who has called for peace during the ongoing conflicts.
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