President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in the Cabinet Room. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
As the war on Iran continues to spiral into yet another Middle East quagmire, a growing number of voices from across the political spectrum are voicing their outrage. Now, the call is coming from inside the house.
On Thursday, Deputy Executive Director of the Taskforce on National and Homeland Security David Pyne had some strong words for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, declaring that he is “ashamed” for supporting the warmongering White House official.
“I defended Secretary of War Pete Hegseth from all of his scandals right up until the invasion of Iran,” Pyne tweeted. “He was America First and reportedly counseled Trump against starting a war with Iran a year ago. Since that time he has gone full neocon warmonger and prayed publicly that God would help us kill the Iranian people. I am ashamed I ever supported him.”
Pyne attached this admission to a video clip of a 2024 interview with Hegseth in which he criticized past American military ventures, saying, “The foolishness with which we ricocheted around the world intervening, thinking it was in our best interest when really we just overturned the table and created something worse."
Hegseth of 2024 offers starkly different messaging as Hegseth of 2026, who on Wednesday tweeted, “Back to the Stone Age,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s assertion during his national address the same day that the U.S. was going to “bomb them back to the Stone Age,” which many have interpreted as a thinly veiled threat to commit war crimes.
In his criticism of Hegseth, Pyne pointed to a sermon delivered by the former Fox News anchor on Wednesday morning, in which he prayed that God “make their land a desolation” and grant American soldiers “overwhelming violence … against those who deserve no mercy.”
Pyne wasn’t the only one to take issue with Hegseth’s violent prayer — so too did Pope Leo XIV, who days later delivered a Palm Sunday homily that many suggested was a direct response to the defense secretary.
“Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” said the Pope. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood’.”
After tweeting his criticism of Hegseth, Pyne followed up with another post about White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who he claimed “is reportedly urging White House aides to stop censoring reports of US military losses and Iranian military successes as well as plunging poll numbers and gas price trends from President Trump to make him realize what a disaster his great power war with Iran has become.”
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