Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has advised US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reduce overt religious references in official briefings.
Steve Bannon shows concern over faith-driven messaging in military briefings by Pete Hegseth (AP/PTI and REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo)According to a report by The Hill, Bannon urged Hegseth to “tone down” Bible references during public communications about ongoing military operations in Iran. He warned that such rhetoric could complicate messaging and widen political divisions.
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What did Pete Hegseth say?
Hegseth has frequently criticized the media's coverage of the war during his regular Pentagon briefings, and on Thursday, he took another jab at the press corps and compared some reporters to the Pharisees, a Jewish community that is often depicted in the Bible as Jesus' adversaries.
Hegseth said, “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.”
He further referred to the “Trump-hating press” and said, “Your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors.”
Some veterans and academics, along with Bannon have expressed worry that the secretary's religious invocations, which include a request for American families to pray for U.S. service men on "bended knee... in the name of Jesus Christ," may cause division inside the military.
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Bannon’s advice and political messaging concerns
In early March, a group of 30 Democrats requested that the inspector general of the Defense Department launch an inquiry into whether Hegseth's "extreme religious rhetoric has metastasized into segments of the military chain of command in ways that contravene constitutional protections, departmental rules and standards, or professional military norms."
On his program "War Room," Bannon praised Adm. and Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying, "It was a briefing of precision." He added, “My observation or recommendation: I don’t think I would start that with some references to the New Testament.”
He also praised Brad Cooper, U.S. Central Command commander, for doing a "magnificent job" of outlining the rationale and workings of the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Even though Bannon has been a steadfast supporter of the Trump administration, his remark suggests that he is concerned about the potential domestic and international reactions to overt religious framing.
He said, “That’s all the mainstream media is covering right now is Pete’s opening remark about the Gospel according to Mark and the reference to the Pharisees, which is, I think, great. It’s just when are you going to do it? I would not do it because it, it steps on what’s important.”
He ultimately suggested, “We ought to tone that down and focus, when we got the Pentagon, let’s have a military briefing.”