This photo illustration shows US President Donald Trump on a screen and an AI-generated picture he posted on his Truth Social platform depicting himself as Jesus Christ after criticizing Pope Leo XIV. AFP
The AI-generated image, posted on his Truth Social late Sunday, showed Trump as a Jesus-like figure healing the sick, while surrounded by American flags and eagles.
By Monday morning, the post no longer appeared on his account, with a notice stating that the “content is no longer available.”
The image sparked criticism across social media, with users, including figures aligned with Trump’s conservative and “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base, describing it as blasphemous.
Among those criticizing the post were Riley Gaines, a conservative activist and media figure popular among right-wing audiences.
Gaines said “a little humility would serve him well” and added that “God shall not be mocked.”
Dave Yost, a Republican state official, chimed in: “Trump is my President; Jesus is my Lord.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Republican congresswoman, a MAGA supporter and conspiracy theory enthusiast who fell out with Trump in recent months, also condemned the image, calling it “more than blasphemy… an Antichrist spirit.”
Alex Jones, a far-right media figure influential among segments of Trump’s support base, said: “This is not a Christian spirit. He needs to be clear: There is only one king, that’s King Jesus, the Lord and Savior.”
Megan Basham, a conservative journalist and commentator, wrote on X that the image amounted to “OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy” and said Trump should “ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”
Asked later at the White House about the image, Donald Trump denied that it depicted Jesus Christ.
“Did you post that picture of yourself depicted as Jesus Christ?” a reporter asked.
“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” Trump said. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better.”
The backlash has highlighted potential strains within Trump’s base, particularly among conservative Christian supporters.
The post could further deepen divisions at a time when some Trump supporters are already questioning the US-Israel war on Iran.
Matthew Taylor, a visiting scholar at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University who studies Christian nationalism, told AFP: “A lot of right-wing supporters were already pushing back against the war in Iran. The rift was already emerging for a lot of his Catholic base, and with the denunciations of Pope Leo, this does threaten to alienate that crowd."
Meanwhile, American Catholics have been offended by Trump's public attacks on Pope Leo XIV, head of the Roman Catholic Church and the first American to lead the Vatican, who has denounced the US war in Iran and his crackdown on immigrants.
On Monday, Trump refused to apologize for his recent public attacks on the pontiff in Truth Social posts.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. He’s wrong,” Trump told reporters. “Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran.”
The pope had described the war on Iran as “madness” and warned against a growing “delusion of omnipotence.”
Asked about Trump’s remarks, the pope said he had “no intention to debate” with the US president.
“I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel,” he said.
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