President Donald Trump and other United States (US) officials cast the rescue of a US airman in Iran as an “Easter miracle” on Sunday, framing the operation in religious terms that portrayed the war as a just cause and divinely blessed.
In the past, administrations typically issued postcard-style Easter greetings, and critics said officials’ messages this time had blurred the line between faith and policy by invoking religion to justify the war and shape the military’s conduct.
“The rescue was an Easter Miracle,” Trump told National Broadcasting Company’s “Meet the Press,” and some cabinet members followed with messages of their own.
In a separate message that invoked religion in another way, Trump threatened on social media to strike power plants and bridges, urged Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz, “you crazy bastards” or face “living in Hell,” and signed off with the phrase “Praise be to Allah.”
In a social media message, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent drew on the symbolism of Easter, the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
“The Easter miracle is considered the greatest victory in history,” Bessent said on X. “And so, it (is) fitting on this holiest of Christian days that a brave American warrior was rescued from behind enemy lines in one of the greatest search and rescue missions in military history.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote “God is good” on his private account on X on Sunday, reposting a social media post by Trump about the success of the rescue mission in Iran.
Axios, citing an interview with the Republican Trump and an unnamed US defense official, reported that was the phrase uttered by the rescued officer over the radio after he ejected from his aircraft.
–Reuters–
