Just in time for the holidays, things got a little religious on The Late Show. Stephen Colbert turned his attention to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday night, using both scripture and the Pope’s own words to dismantle the administration’s religious justification for the ongoing conflict with Iran.
During his monologue on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colbert began by mocking Hegseth’s recent Pentagon press conference, joking that he looked like someone who had just discovered a Build-A-Bear Workshop without a full bar. But then Colbert zeroed in on Hegseth’s comments about negotiating with a new Iranian regime. The one problem? It's now one led by the son of a leader the U.S. had just killed.
“That’s not necessarily the best opening offer,” Colbert said, comparing the situation to The Princess Bride, riffing on the famous Inigo Montoya line: “You killed my father ... prepare to negotiate.”
From there, Colbert pivoted to what he considered to be the more troubling aspect of Hegseth’s remarks. The Secretary of Defense once again invoked Christianity to justify violence. The Late Show host played a clip of Hegseth praying for military success, including asking for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy,” delivered “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
“I don’t know what in the blue-eyed, blond baby Jesus Hegseth is talking about,” Colbert continued, recalling his own Catholic upbringing. “That is not the Jesus I was raised with.”
To back up his criticism, Colbert referenced the only other public figure Americans like these days besides the Late Show host. Quoting Pope Leo’s Palm Sunday message, Colbert highlighted a very different interpretation of Christian teaching, one that explicitly rejects war.
“Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Colbert recited, adding the Pope’s warning that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage violence: “Your hands are full of blood.”
That last line gave Colbert an opening for another punchline, reminding his audience that they've seen a "hand full of blood" latelty. The Late Show then flashed to an image of President Donald Trump's bruised hand that's been on display during his public appearances over the past few months.
Pete Hegseth and Stephen Colbert both reference their religious beliefs while doing their respective jobs. But according to the Late Show comedian, only one of them is on the right side of things. And when that appears to be the same side as the pope, it gets a lot harder to argue.