At a White House press briefing Monday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made a not-to-subtle allusion to the resurrection of Jesus Christ as he explained the travails of the second U.S. airman rescued in Iran after his fighter jet was shot down.
The as-yet unnamed gunner was “shot down on a Friday, good Friday, hidden in a cave all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday, Easter Sunday,” said Hegseth. “A pilot reborn … a nation rejoicing. God is good.”
Hegseth: You see, shot down on a Friday. Good Friday. Hidden in a cave, all of Saturday. And rescued on Sunday, Easter Sunday. A pilot reborn pic.twitter.com/WKCe7fKivG
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) April 6, 2026
After ejecting the aircraft and being wounded, the airman climbed a mountain and hid in a crevice, signaling his location to U.S. personnel.
The subsequent rescue operation, in which no casualties were experienced, involved scores of aircraft and other military assets, as President Trump explained at the briefing.
Not everyone appreciated Hegseth’s comparison, however. Said one X users: “Why do they keep comparing things to the Resurrection. [Trump spiritual adviser] Paula White was just saying this crap about Trump, and now Pete is saying the same thing about a [airman]. Blasphemy.”
Another entoned, “The brainwashing the U.S. does to the people is almost sickening. He is nothing like Jesus, OK? That’s just wrong.”
Others claim the whole story of rescued personnel is made up: “Literally don’t believe a word of this Iran Pilot© story from a TRUMP who lied his USA into a war over non-existing nukes … an empty ejector seat was all they needed to drop to give the story life … the rest is probably something they will spill in a decade or 2.”