War Secretary Pete Hegseth once again blasted the media’s coverage of the Iran war on Thursday, taking his criticism one step further by comparing journalists to pharisees from the Bible.
He found the comparison quite apparent after listening to his pastor preach on a passage in Mark 3, which detailed how Jesus healed a sick man on the Sabbath. In response, the pharisees began plotting to kill Jesus because he challenged their understanding of the Jewish holy day of rest.
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“I sat there in church, and I thought our press are just like these pharisees,” he told reporters. “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 were a group of religious leaders known for their strict adherence to the written law in Judaism.
In this tirade during the latest Pentagon press conference on the Iran war, Hegseth said the pharisees were the “so-called and self-appointed elites of their time,” while making that comparison to reporters in the briefing room.
“The pharisees scrutinized every good act in order to find a violation, only looking for the negative,” he said. “The hardened hearts of our press are calibrated only to impugn.”
Hegseth then contrasted the press with the public, who he says have “goodness in their hearts” and “see past the pharisees in our press.”
The remarks were the latest instance of the Cabinet member invoking his Christian faith to make a point on the military operation in Iran or its coverage in the news media.
“I just 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. “Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out what side some of you are actually on.”
Hegseth went on to say some in the press corps are “incredibly unpatriotic” and accused them of covering the Biden administration favorably while doing the opposite for the Trump administration. He pointed to press coverage for the U.S. military’s “disastrous and disgraceful” withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 as an example of the difference.
“You called it the greatest airlift in American history,” the War Department head claimed without directly referring to a specific report. “It’s almost like you’re cheering only for one side.”
The “greatest airlift” comment appears to have been spread by conservative figures in 2021 after then-President Joe Biden described the Afghanistan withdrawal as “one of the biggest airlifts in history.” Fox News commentator Mark Levin paraphrased the initial comment, the twisted interpretation of which was then repeated by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in an August 2022 letter to Biden.
Operation Epic Fury advances as a tentative two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains in effect. A U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, blocking access to Iranian ports, is a key point of tension right now.
HEGSETH SAYS IRAN IS ‘DIGGING OUT’ BOMBED FACILITIES AND WARNS OF CONTINUED US MILITARY PRESENCE
Hegseth warned the Islamic regime that the U.S. military is prepared to resume fighting if necessary.
“If Iran chooses poorly, then they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power, and energy,” he said. “The world watched, and so did you, as the U.S. military moved seamlessly from major combat operations to a world-class blockade. We can make that transition again, very quickly and even more powerfully than ever.”
