Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth lashed out at the media in a rant that compared the “Trump-hating press” to a group of villains from the Bible — placing President Donald Trump in the role of Jesus in the parable.

The president is fresh off sparking anger among MAGA figures and others with a now-deleted post depicting himself as Jesus, and locked in a one-way assault on Pope Leo XIV.

Hegseth built on those themes at a joint press conference on Tuesday morning alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine to update the Pentagon press corps on the Iran war.

In his opening remarks, Hegseth repeatedly referenced the Pharisees and their treatment of Jesus — and directly compared them to the “legacy” press:

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH: To the press, the press corps, to the American media, as I just can’t help but notice the endless stream of garbage, the relentlessly negative coverage.

You cannot resist peddling, despite the historic and important success of this effort and the success of our troops. Troops.

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what side some of you are actually on. It’s incredibly unpatriotic.

This same press corps, not this exact same press corps, but at least an older press corps bent over backwards during the Biden administration to explain away, you explained away the disastrous and disgraceful Afghanistan withdrawal.

You called it the greatest airlift in American history. It’s almost like you’re cheering only for one side.

This past Sunday… I was sitting in church with my family, and our minister preached from the Book of Mark, the third chapter.

And in the passage, Jesus entered a synagogue and healed a man with a withered hand.

The Pharisees came to watch. And as the scripture reads, they came to see whether he, Jesus, would heal him, or he would heal Him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

You see, the Pharisees, the so-called and self-appointed elites of their time, they were there to witness, to write everything down, to report.

But their hearts were hardened. Even though they witnessed a literal miracle, it didn’t matter, they were only there to explain away the goodness in pursuit of their agenda.

As the passage ends, the Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel against him how to destroy him.

I sat there in church, and I thought, our press are just like these Pharisees. Not all of you, not all of, 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 scrutinized every good act in order to find a violation. Looking for the negative. The hardened hearts of our press are calibrated only to impugn. I would ask you to open your eyes to the goodness, the historic success of our troops, the courage of this President, and this historic moment for a deal that could end the Iranian nuclear threat.

Watch above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!