When asked by a reporter if he thought God would support his war in Iran, Trump responded affirmatively and insisted God would want to see people taken care of – which he asserted he has done by ending eight wars.

“God wants to see people taken care of,” Trump told reporters during Monday’s press briefing.

The president went on to insist that he doesn’t like to see people killed during war but that he’s doing so to protect others.

“I’ve ended eight wars; nobody’s ever done it. The person who won the Nobel Prize came to me and said, ‘You deserve the Nobel Prize.’” The president insisted.

Trump has often mentioned his desire for the Nobel Peace Prize.

While complaining about U.S. allies who refused to assist the U.S. in its war with Iran, President Trump said North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un insulted former President Joe Biden.

“He used to call Joe Biden a mentally r****ed person,” Trump told reporters Monday afternoon

When asked if he was winding down the war or ramping it up, Trump responded: “I can’t tell you. I don’t know.”

“It depends what they do. This is a critical period. They have a period of—well, until tomorrow at 8 o’clock.”

Hegseth, a devout Christian, compared the rescue operation of a U.S. airman to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Weekend.

“Shot down on a Friday. Good Friday. Hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday. And rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday. A pilot reborn. All home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing. God is good,” Hegseth said during the press conference.

Trump expressed frustration at a leaker and media outlet for reporting on the F-15 pilot successfully rescued in Iran Friday, before a second service member was determined safe. He threatened to throw the leaker and the news reporter in jail.

The president said he planned to go to the news outlet and the reporter who reported the story to determine who leaked the information and threatened jail time unless they revealed the source.

“We’ll be able to find it out because we’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, national security, give it up or go to jail,” Trump said.

The president did not specify what news outlet or reporter he was talking about.

Some 155 aircraft were involved in the rescue of the second Air Force member behind enemy lines in Iran.

It included four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft, among others, Trump said.

A lot of the efforts were decoys for the Iranians who were also hunting for the missing American service member.

“We were bringing them all over and a lot of it was subterfuge,” Trump said.

President Donald Trump began his “major” press conference Monday afternoon discussing the rescue mission of American service members shot down in Iran, calling it “genius.”

The president, accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy Steve Witkoff, began by describing the rescue efforts this past weekend after two airmen ejected and landed alive “deep in enemy territory” in Iran.

Trump said 21 aircraft were deployed in the first wave of the mission, flying for hours under “very, very heavy enemy fire.” He said the U.S. has one helicopter with many bullets in it.

President Donald Trump was eager to talk about the ongoing war in Iran at the White House Easter Egg Roll Monday morning, making it the subject of his introductory remarks and discussions with reporters throughout the event.

Despite having a press conference scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on the war, Trump jumped into praising the U.S. military for rescuing a crew member shot down in an F-15 over Iran this past weekend, claiming the U.S. was decimating Iran, insisting the U.S. could bomb Iran’s plants and bridges and asserting he had large-scale support for the war.

As the president boasted about the military operation, children scurried around and enjoyed family-friendly activities in celebration of Easter.

The discussions on tens of thousands of Iranian protesters killed and the U.S. bombing the country appeared to juxtapose the event tailored to small children with events such as coloring, an egg roll and a read-aloud with First Lady Melania Trump.

When asked if he thought he could begin building his beloved arch, despite the legal challenge, the president asked the reporter who brought the lawsuit. The reporter informed him veterans.

“A group of veterans?” Trump questioned.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Trump added.