President Donald Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth both evoked Christian faith at a press conference debriefing on the rescue of the American serviceman who was stranded in Iran.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said he believed God was watching over the rescue operation because of its proximity to the Easter holiday.
“When you go into these areas, you don’t come out like we came out. God was watching us,” he said, joking that the timeframe of the rescue was “in Easter territory, I guess.”
Two servicemen flying an F-15 were forced to eject from their plane when they took fire over Iranian territory on Friday. The pilot was tracked and rescued within six hours of the crash, but the weapons systems officer was stranded in the hostile country for over a day. He was successfully pulled out of the country by the U.S. military in the early hours of Easter Sunday.
Hegseth drew parallels between the rescue timeline and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The secretary noted that the F-15 operator was forced to eject himself into hostile territory “on a Friday, Good Friday,” and “hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday.”
“And rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn,” Hegseth continued. “All home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good.”
Hegseth, who has crusader tattoos such as the Jerusalem Cross and the words “Deus Vult” (Latin for “God Wills It”), has at multiple points blended Christian belief with his military command. He prayed at a Pentagon-hosted religious service last month that “every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation.”
“Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy,” Hegseth added. “We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ.”
One reporter, following up on the Monday press conference’s repeated references to Christianity, asked the president directly if he believes “God supports the United States’ actions in this war.”
“I do, because God is good,” Trump said, interrupting the reporter mid-question. “God is good, and God wants to see people taken care of.”
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Trump continued: “God doesn’t like what’s happening. I don’t like what’s happening. Everyone says I enjoy it — I don’t enjoy this. … I don’t like seeing people killed.”
Trump reaffirmed his position that the Islamic regime has until tomorrow to accept U.S. terms for a ceasefire or else the country will be bombed “back to the Stone Age.” The president said the military would specifically target critical infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges.