Are Pete Hegseth’s tattoos symbols of ‘Christian nationalism’?

President-elect Donald Trump’s caller prime to pb the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is being blasted for tattoos that immoderate allege are symbols of White supremacy and Christian nationalism.

Hegseth, 44, is simply a erstwhile Fox News big and retired Army large who served successful the infantry and was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Like galore existent and erstwhile subject members, Hegseth has an array of tattoos with Christian and American symbolism.

One of the tattoos garnering the astir attraction is simply a awesome connected Hegseth’s thorax known arsenic the "Jerusalem Cross," which consists of 1 ample transverse surrounded by 4 smaller crosses.

Hegseth, an evangelical Christian, has said that the transverse is simply a awesome of his Christian faith, but his detractors person said the Jerusalem Cross is an indicator of extremism, White supremacist and Christian nationalist sentiment. Some person adjacent mistaken it for the Nazi swastika.

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(Fox News hosts Pete Hegseth and Kayleigh McEnany.)

According to Hegseth, interest implicit the tattoo caused his enactment successful the District of Columbia National Guard to propulsion him from a ngo to defender the inauguration of President Biden and yet factored into his determination to discontinue from the military.

According to Father David Grenier, a Catholic clergyman and subordinate of the spiritual bid the Holy Land Franciscan Friars, which uses the Jerusalem Cross arsenic its symbol, the transverse originated successful Eastern Christianity sometime successful the 5th and sixth centuries and was aboriginal adopted by crusaders and the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1291.

The cross, which adorns Grenier’s habit, continues to beryllium utilized by his bid today. The transverse is besides the emblem of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Catholic order, the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre.

He explained to Fox News Digital that the Jerusalem Cross has a dual meaning of representing the 5 wounds of Christ’s crucifixion and the gospel being taken to each country of the world. In the second interpretation, helium said that the ample transverse represents Jerusalem from which the gospels scope the north, south, eastbound and west, which are represented by the 4 smaller crosses.

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Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington celebrates a Catholic Mass astatine the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land successful America successful Washington, D.C. A mosaic of the "Cross of Jerusalem" decorates the cardinal's seat. (Holy Land Franciscan Friars)

Chromo illustration (from the Liebig figurine series) of Duke of Lower Lorraine, Goffredo di Buglione (1061–1100), Italy, circa 1900. As Goffredo III (between 1089–1100), helium participated successful the First Crusade (1096–1099). (Photo by Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images)

While helium said that helium cannot talk to wherefore Hegseth chose to tattoo the Jerusalem Cross connected himself, helium is not acquainted with the transverse being utilized to correspond Christian supremacy sentiments. On the contrary, helium said that the transverse symbolizes the connection of salvation being taken to each people. He besides said that it is simply a reasonably communal signifier for Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem to tattoo a Jerusalem Cross connected themselves arsenic a motion that they person visited the beatified city.

"That was thing that was happening, not needfully for everyone, but for galore radical who traveled," helium said. "And adjacent today, erstwhile they spell to the Holy Land to person the Jerusalem transverse tattooed connected their body."

One of those modern pilgrims with a Jerusalem Cross tattoo is Father Mike Schmitz, a podcaster, younker talker and 1 of the astir well-known Catholic priests successful America.

In a video explaining his tattoo, Schmitz said that it serves arsenic a reminder that "I never, ever, nary substance what–I ne'er privation to beryllium capable to instrumentality disconnected Jesus."

"If you are baptized, you’ve been clothed successful Christ. You can’t instrumentality Him off. Same with me. I’ve been clothed successful Christ successful my baptism, and I can’t instrumentality him off, adjacent if I wanted to. But determination is immoderate benignant of look of that. Now it’s connected my arm," helium said.

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(Father Mike Schmitz, a Catholic clergyman and media personality, speaks connected a conception of Fox News America Reports connected March 29, 2024.)

Similarly, Jennifer Greenberg, an evangelical writer and composer, told Fox News Digital that the Jerusalem Cross is besides precise communal successful evangelical circles.

She said she was "shocked" to spot the transverse being compared to a swastika online, which compelled her to respond successful a viral X post.

"To spot thing truthful beauteous and truthful precious, specified a awesome of affluent Christian practice equated with Nazism, you know, achromatic supremacy, it was conscionable truly disgusting," she said.

According to Greenberg, the transverse continues to beryllium worn by pastors and to adorn Bibles and Christian books.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa, center, leads a wide connected Easter Sunday astatine the Church of the Holy Sepulchre successful Jerusalem connected April 9, 2023. The Jerusalem Cross emblem is shown connected the banner straight down Pizzaballa. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

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She besides pointed retired that Hegseth’s different arguable tattoos, "Deus Vult" and "Join oregon Die," are communal Christian and American symbols and are not associated with extremism.

The "Join oregon Die" tattoo, which depicts a chopped-up snake, is simply a governmental cartoon archetypal published successful 1754 successful Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia newspaper. The cartoon was intended to promote the assorted American colonies to unite implicit a communal origin and became 1 of the astir well-known symbols of the Revolutionary War.

However, possibly much arguable is the Deus Vult tattoo, Latin for "God wills it." This saying was a communal conflict outcry during the Crusades, but, arsenic Greenberg explained, it is besides a communal saying successful Christianity indicating spot and abandonment of oneself to God’s providence.

"What they were saying is, ‘God, nary substance what happens to me, if I dice successful battle, if I'm terribly injured, nary substance what happens, whitethorn your volition beryllium done,’" she said. "I deliberation it makes a batch of consciousness that idiosyncratic similar Pete Hegseth, being a veteran, would resonate with that benignant of awesome because, arsenic a veteran, arsenic a soldier, helium would person gone into battle. He would person walked betwixt landmines, and this would person been a comforting thought for him. No substance what happens to me, God, fto your volition beryllium done."