Steve Bannon's blunt take on Pete Hegseth's ‘Pulp Fiction’ Bible verse; ‘don’t think I would...’
April 16, 2026
Hegseth attacked media as biased and likened reporters to Pharisees, while Steve Bannon and others warned against his use of religious rhetoric.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has publicly advised U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reduce the use of overt religious language in official communications, a rare critique coming from a prominent conservative figure. Bannon's comments followed a recent Pentagon event where Hegseth recited a prayer that was heavily based on a fictional Bible verse monologue from the 1994 film "Pulp Fiction." Bannon suggested that such rhetoric "steps on what's important" and recommended that Pentagon briefings should remain focused on military matters.
The incident that drew Bannon's pointed advice occurred during a Pentagon prayer service. Hegseth led a prayer for a combat search and rescue mission, which he introduced as "CSAR 25:17," noting he believed it was meant to reflect the Book of Ezekiel 25:17. The words he recited, however, were a near-verbatim lift from the speech delivered by Samuel L. Jackson's character in the Quentin Tarantino film. Hegseth adapted the cinematic monologue for a military context, substituting phrases like "righteous man" for "downed aviator" and replacing the iconic line "my name is the Lord" with "my call sign is Sandy 1."
The monologue popularized in "Pulp Fiction" is itself a creative invention, bearing little resemblance to the actual text of Ezekiel 25:17 in the Bible. The biblical verse is a single sentence in which God promises vengeance upon the Philistines. The film's version, largely written by Tarantino and co-writer Roger Avary, is a much longer, stylized speech that was itself inspired by a 1970s Japanese martial arts film. A Pentagon spokesperson later clarified that the prayer was a custom tradition among some military personnel, acknowledging its inspiration from the movie.
This event is part of a broader pattern of Hegseth, a former Fox News host appointed as Defense Secretary in 2025, incorporating strong religious language into his official duties. Shortly after the "Pulp Fiction" prayer, Hegseth drew further criticism during a press briefing where he compared journalists critical of the administration's policies to the Pharisees, a Jewish group often depicted as adversaries of Jesus in the New Testament. This has led to concern among some veterans and congressional Democrats about what they term "extreme religious rhetoric" potentially causing division within the military.
In his critique, Bannon specifically referenced Hegseth's comparison of the media to the Pharisees, saying, "I don't think I would start that with some references to the New Testament.” He argued that the media's focus on the religious remarks detracts from the administration's intended message. Bannon's counsel for Hegseth to "tone it down" represents a strategic divergence among conservative voices on how to engage with the public and the media, highlighting a debate over the appropriate role of faith in official government and military settings. The ongoing use of such language has already prompted a group of 30 Democrats to request a Defense Department inspector general inquiry.
Source: hindustantimes