Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia posted a video saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is twisting Isaiah’s words to wrap power and war in sacred language, and urged him to study the scripture. According to the post, Warnock said authentic faith stands with the poor, widows, and orphans, and that he is standing with Isaiah. Online users reacted after the message appeared, with many replies accusing the senator of hypocrisy and calling him a “fake rev” over his own use of scripture.
The clip shows Warnock seated in an office with bookshelves behind him, speaking directly to the camera beneath a text overlay that reads “Pete Hegseth needs a lesson on scripture.” In the footage, he says Pete Hegseth “is twisting scripture again” and is trying “to use the words of Isaiah to wrap up power and war in sacred clothes.”
He adds, “Pete Hegseth needs to study his scripture,” because Isaiah “challenged government that marginalizes the poor, the widows, the orphans” and “challenges corruption.”
The accompanying post text matches those remarks and closes with Warnock saying, “Faith, when it is authentic, stands on the margins, stands with the weak, and recognizes that all of us are children of the living God. I’m standing with Isaiah.” The video does not show Hegseth or the earlier speeches it refers to.
Separate reporting has described Hegseth invoking Isaiah 6:8, “Here am I. Send me,” in military addresses, including lines such as “Send me to fight the Islamists,” a use some clergy and commentators have called a misreading of the prophet’s call.
How Viewers Are Responding to the Scripture Exchange
Some replies focused on Warnock’s own record. One commenter wrote, “You twist scripture by supporting abortion, Reverend.” Another said, “You need to study scripture, Reverend. Like ‘Thou shalt not commit murder!’ You support the murder of unborn children.”
A third wrote, “I don’t need a false prophet explaining anything to me, ‘Senator Reverend.’”
Other responses questioned his standing to interpret the passage. One user posted, “It amazes me how people love to twist the Scriptures yet can’t fathom the Simplicity of…”
Others landed closer to Warnock. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger wrote there is “simply no Biblical justification for how Hegseth twists a prophet’s answer to God into a recruitment slogan.”
Religious writers have also called the military use of Isaiah 6:8 a misuse of the text.
The exchange adds another moment to the ongoing debate over how scripture is used in public arguments about war and government. Whether the two sides are reading the same passages the same way remains unsettled online.
