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Last year, we suggested (proved?) that the Trump administration may be culturally illiterate – especially when it comes to cinema.
Now, Pete Hegseth has added another stone to that dubious edifice.
The US Secretary of War, a Christian nationalist who has been referencing the Bible and Jesus Christ in several of his gung-ho / fire-and-brimstone addresses, quoted a fake Bible verse from Quentin Tarantino’s beloved classic Pulp Fiction during a prayer service at the Pentagon.
No, we’re not making this up.
Hegseth mistakenly presented the made-up scripture as genuine Bible verse – seemingly trying to outdo Samuel L. Jackson, who delivered the original lines in the 1994 film.
He set up the quote by saying it was a prayer recited by Sandy 1 – one of the US Air Force Combat Search and Rescue teams involved in the rescue of a US Air Force airman who was trapped behind enemy lines in Iran earlier this month.
“The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil man,” Hegseth dramatically recited. “Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherds the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother, and you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee. Amen.”
For comparison’s sake, here’s the iconic monologue from Pulp Fiction, in which Jackson’s character Jules Winnfield recited the fictional Biblical quote from Ezekiel 25:17 before gunning down a character: “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.”
As you can see, aside from a few military modifications on Hegseth’s part, as well as an added “Amen”, it’s pretty damn similar.
Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, released a statement on X, writing: “Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday shared a custom prayer, referenced as the CSAR prayer, used by the brave warfighters of Sandy-1 who led the daylight rescue mission of Dude 44 Alpha out of Iran, which was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction. However, both the CSAR prayer and the dialogue in Pulp Fiction were reflections of the verse Ezekiel 25:17, as Secretary Hegseth clearly said in his remarks at the prayer service. Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality.”
For further reference, the Old Testament book of Ezekiel in the Bible’s King James version reads: “And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.”
So, yeah… No one is buying the Parnell’s spin or “ignorant of reality” defence.
Hegseth has been trolled for quoting from the gospel of Tarantino – leading to accusations of being a “Fake Christian” and “clown”.
Check out some of the reactions to Hegseth’s blunder, which feels like an SNL cold open, including a nightmarish mock-up of the Pulp Fiction poster from Gavin Newsom:
Tarantino and Jackson haven’t responded to Hegseth’s recital. Yet. Maybe they’ll get in the mood and go all “medieval on (his) ass”…