‘Haha’: Pete Hegseth Reads Textly Closely As He Tries to Evoke Religious Feeling, Then Video Goes Viral for a Reason Nobody in the Room is Willing to Explain Out Loud
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing backlash after he read what he claimed was holy scripture to discuss the war in Iran, but he actually quoted Quentin Tarantino.
During a Pentagon worship service on April 15, Hegseth read a fake Bible verse from Tarantino’s 1994 “Pulp Fiction” while discussing the rescue mission of an American fighter pilot stranded in Iran.
According to Defense Now, Hegseth told the assemblage that the prayer was recited by the “Sandy One” Combat Search and Rescue mission in Iran. “They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,” the secretary said.
Here’s what Hegseth said:
“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 One when I lay my vengeance upon thee. Amen.”
The exact speech Hegseth gave was altered from the version of Ezekiel 25:17 that Samuel L. Jackson’s character read infamously in the movie, just before he kills someone.
Here’s the original line Jackson’s Jules Winnfield hitman said:
“The path of the righteous man is best on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and goodwill, shepherds the weak 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 poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”
The actual Ezekiel 25:17 passage in the King James Bible reads like this:
“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.”
“That’s quite an achievement. In one week, Trump mocks Jesus, Vance mocks the Pope, and Hegseth reads fake Bible quotes. Way to go, boys,” @PeterMN99 wrote on X.
“Hahaha, coming from the administration who told the Pope to stay out of politics,” @Fckd_Voter95 commented on X. “This legitimately could be an SNL skit.”
The attempt to invoke religious emotions is a part of Hegseth’s “proselytizing Christian campaign” in his job, according to The Washington Post.
“What appears to be happening at the Pentagon are services that basically recognize only a particular religious tradition,” Dickinson College President John E. Jones III told The Conversation. “And it’s very notable that Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit against both Defense Department and the Labor Department because there are similar activities that are taking place there.”
House Democrats filed six articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Wednesday, accusing the defense secretary of “high crimes and misdemeanors”, in reference to the attack on Iran without congressional authorization and deadly strikes on suspected drug smuggling boats, among other official acts, according to The Guardian.
“You choose to contort Christianity into an excuse for a life of violence. You have perverted your faith to justify murder,” @politicsforlove added. “Why is it always those who profess to be the most fervent believers in this war? They always manipulate other people to die for them.”
Kingsley Wilson, a Pentagon spokesperson, dismissed the articles of impeachment as an attention-seeking bid.
“This is just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had here at the Department of War,” She said in a statement to Axios.