During Trump’s first term in office, “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth worked to ensure that convicted war criminals were acquitted by the president.Image: keystone
analysis
Even the Pope is horrified by the US Secretary of Defense’s comments.
April 3, 2026, 12:53 p.mApril 3, 2026, 12:53 p.m
Easter is a time of optimism for Christians – the resurrection of Jesus is a symbol that there is hope for people even in difficult times. It is no coincidence that hundreds of thousands once took part in marches at Easter to demonstrate for peace and against nuclear armament.
Tattooed: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.Image: X
The US President and his Defense Secretary see it differently. Pete Hegseth even imagines himself – like the crusaders in the Middle Ages – in a holy war between Christians and unbelievers.
Hegseth is, in the literal sense, thoroughly Christian. He has a Latin tattoo Deus vult (God willing) on his right bicep. At the Pentagon he introduced daily prayers and regular church services with very conservative priests. The Defense Minister also says sentences like: “Every day we kneel together in our schools and churches with our families to call on the name of Jesus Christ.”
For Hegseth, this is more than a confession of faith. He sees this as an important part of the power of the US armed forces. “Our skills are getting better,” he said in a recent interview with “60 Minutes,” a CBS News program. «Our will is strengthened. Our troops are getting better. The providence of our Almighty God will protect our troops, and we want to fulfill his mission.”
Hegseth, on the other hand, doesn’t believe in Christian charity. Anything is allowed against enemies of the USA – especially when it comes to Muslims. He describes international rules against war crimes as stupid rules. Instead, he tries his hand at being a rapper and postulates: maximum lethality rather than lukewarm legality, or violent effects, not political correctness.
Hegseth almost glorifies violence and sadism against enemies. During Trump’s first term in office, he worked to ensure that convicted war criminals were acquitted by the president. He has no problem with the fact that fishing boats in the Caribbean Sea that were allegedly transporting drugs are sunk by the US Air Force, and even the injured are not rescued but are subsequently killed. A clear violation of international law and also internal guidelines of the US Navy.
Destroyed infrastructure in Iran.Image: keystone
The Geneva Convention is a foreign concept for Hegseth. He calls on soldiers to “use overwhelming force against those who do not deserve mercy,” drawing on his faith: “I ask these things with bold confidence in the name of Jesus Christ.”
For Hegseth, the war against Iran is about much more than just preventing another nuclear state. “It is an essential test,” he told other defense ministers. “It’s about whether we remain a Western Christian nation that proudly defends our heritage with strong borders and wealthy people.”
The defense minister makes no secret of the fact that he is in a holy war. In 2020 he published a book called “American Crusade.” In it he rambles about bloody and unimaginable tragedies, which are necessary to prevent Europe from falling into Islamic hands.
In this book, Hegseth asks the rhetorical question: “Do we enjoy Western civilization? Freedom? Justice? Thank a crusader. Without the Crusades there would have been no Protestant Reformation and no Renaissance. There would be no Europe and no America.”
Condemns violence: Pope Leo XIVImage: keystone
Hegseth’s Christian zeal and his merciless attitude towards enemies go too far even for the Pope. Addressing the Secretary of Defense, Leo XIV, an American citizen, said: “Violence can never lead to justice and stability and the peace that all people hope for.”
Hegseth’s religious zeal and sadism are coupled with incompetence – the USA has never seen such an incompetent man at the head of the Pentagon – and corruption. The “Financial Times” has just revealed that the Defense Minister invested on a large scale in defense companies through intermediaries even before the outbreak of the war. Hegseth, of course, denies this, and given the rampant corruption of the Trump family, this is just a footnote.
The president also increasingly sees himself as a Christian warrior. Completely free of irony, he sees the failed assassination attempt on him as a heavenly sign. “God saved me so I could make America great again,” he says.
As the chosen one before God, Trump believes himself to be above worldly laws. The fact that his war is most likely contrary to international law leaves him cold. That his attempt to bomb Iran back into the Stone Age is a war crime and also violates the traditions of the American army. Instead, the White House glorifies this war on social channels with endless images of bombs being dropped and scenes from video games.
Insignificant speech by the US President.Image: keystone
However, none of this can hide the fact that the US President is getting deeper and deeper into a quagmire from which he cannot find a way out. His meaningless speech this week showed that, and that in turn is causing his approval ratings among Americans to sink ever lower. Above all, the young voters who voted for him in droves in 2024 are turning away from him.
One of them is the conservative comedian Andrew Schulz. He explained to the “Atlantic”: “What the hell do I get from the Iran war? I can’t pay my tuition fees. I can’t buy a house. I have no money to pay my health insurance bill and we’re spending billions on a war against a country I can’t find on a map of the world.”