Megyn Kelly Rages Over Pete Hegseth 'Praying Through War Briefings' and Urges Defense Sec. to Stop Mentioning Jesus — After the Death of Iranian Civilians
Megyn Kelly has had enough of Pete Hegseth openly praying about the Iran war.
April 14 2026, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Megyn Kelly lit into Pete Hegseth for brazenly praying before briefings about the war in Iran, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former MAGA darling slammed the Secretary of Defense, telling him to "check the Jesus talk," while ordering bombings that have killed innocent civilians.
Killing Iranian Civilians Is 'Not in the Name of Jesus'
Kelly slammed Hegseth for praying at Pentagon war briefings.
Kelly played a clip from a 60 Minutes piece that aired on April 12, which showed Hegseth at the podium, praying, "Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle."
The reporter then noted, "Pope Leo warned that 'Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.'"
"Okay, it feels off that Pete Hegseth keeps praying at these briefings that he's doing as if it’s all in the name of God," Kelly told her viewers.
She continued, "The bombing of Iran, in which 170 young girls were killed, that was, that’s not in the name of God. Okay? Definitely not in the name of Jesus. I wish you would just check the Jesus talk, the God talk at the Pentagon briefings. All right?" adding that the "Department of War" isn't a place for such activity.
Megyn Kelly Said Praying 'Isn't Appropriate' at Pentagon War Briefings
Kelly said Hegseth should stop mentioning Jesus in his war briefings.
"I understand he has a job to do. It's not appropriate there," Kelly scoffed about Hegseth praying at Pentagon briefings.
"You pray on Sunday, pray every morning on your knees to God, but while you're updating us on the number you've killed, which necessarily has included some civilians, um, we don't mention Jesus. Don't talk about God. Don't act like he's sanctioning what you're doing. Okay," the former Fox News host fumed.
Megyn Kelly Slams Donald Trump's Jesus Image As 'Blasphemous by Any Definition'
Kelly blasted Donald Trump's 'Jesus' image as 'blasphemous.'
Kelly's criticism of Hegseth came just before she lit into Donald Trump for his "obvious misstep" in another religiously fueled topic.
She mentioned how everyone was expecting the president to rip Pope Leo after the pontiff was critical of the U.S. and Israel's military offensive in Iran.
"But what we didn't know was coming was this absolutely absurd offensive meme AI-generated version of a picture showing Donald Trump as Jesus," Kelly remarked.
She described for those who were listening via SiriusXM that the image showed Trump "as Jesus with his hand on the head of a sick patient in bed and a demon behind him and a light glowing around him."
"It is obviously him purporting to be God. That is what he's doing. And it is blasphemous by any definition of that word," the lifelong Catholic warned.
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Donald Trump Claims the Jesus AI Image Showed Him 'As a Doctor'
Donald Trump claimed the 'Jesus' image was meant to show him as a doctor while honoring the Red Cross.
Trump later took down the offending image, but not before a number of his most staunch religious allies turned against the president.
He attempted to laughably clean up his mess by claiming the image of him in a white and red robe, placing a hand of light on a hospitalized soldier's forehead, was meant to portray him as a medical professional.
"I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross. There’s a Red Cross worker, which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one," Trump explained to skeptical reporters outside of the Oval Office.
He bafflingly added, "I just heard about it, and I said, 'How did they come up with that?' It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”
