Pete Hegseth, the United States Secretary of Defense, is drawing attention from internet users after citing an alleged passage from the Bible that actually comes from the film Pulp Fiction.
The incident took place last Wednesday (16), while Hegseth was speaking at an event at the Pentagon. At one point, the secretary attempted to quote a prayer known as “CSAR 25:17,” which had recently been used during an operation in Iran that involved two U.S. Air Force crew members being shot down by Iran.
It turns out that Hegseth did not remember exactly the words of the prayer he tried to quote, so he ended up citing a passage from the 1994 film by Quentin Tarantino. “The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,” Hegseth said.
“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 upon you with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother. And you will know that my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon you, amen,” the secretary added.
Rather than being a Bible verse, the line was actually spoken by the character portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the film, where he incorrectly cites what he claims to be Ezekiel 25:17—a passage that was in fact written by Tarantino specifically for the movie.
Although there are some similarities between the Pulp Fiction quote and the actual Bible passage, there are clearly significant differences that Hegseth appears to have confused.
The incident quickly caught the attention of internet users. “At this point, everyone has long realized that Donald Trump and his team are filming a documentary-style sequel to Pulp Fiction 2,” one joked.
“It feels like I’m watching a poorly scripted reality show when it comes to pretty much everything related to the Trump administration,” another commenter lamented.
Pete Hegseth quoted a fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction during a Pentagon sermon.pic.twitter.com/1o3CJiJYRF
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 16, 2026
Photo and video: Creative Commons / X @clashreport. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
