Donald Trump has deleted an AI-generated image depicting him as a Jesus Christ-like figure after facing scathing backlash from his Christian supporters
Donald Trump has removed an AI-generated image from Truth Social that portrayed him in a Jesus Christ-like manner.
The post featured the US president with a radiant, heavenly glow emanating from his hands while appearing to heal a patient in a hospital bed, with a demonic figure hovering in the background.
The image, which emerged alongside Trump’s startling criticism of Pope Leo, provoked fury amongst some of his most prominent Christian backers. He subsequently offered a puzzling justification for the post, informing journalists the photograph was “to do with the Red Cross which we support.”
Megan Basham, a journalist with the conservative Daily Wire, condemned the president for his “OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” while Isabel Brown, a presenter on the same platform, branded the image “disgusting and unacceptable”.
“Nothing matters more than Jesus,” she stated. “This post is, frankly, disgusting and unacceptable, but also a profound misreading of the American people experiencing a true and beautiful revival of faith in Christ.”, reports the Mirror.
Basham called on Trump to remove the photograph without delay. “I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this,” she remarked.
“Take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God”.
Trump later informed White House reporters the image depicted him as a “doctor,” stating: “It has to do with the Red Cross”. Responding to the criticism on Monday afternoon, he stated: “I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor. It has to do with the Red Cross. A Red Cross worker is there which we support […] It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better and I do make people better.”
On Sunday, Trump unleashed a lengthy social media tirade criticising the pope before telling journalists: “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo”. His remarks followed the pope’s suggestion that a “delusion of omnipotence” was driving the US-Israel war in Iran.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president declared in a scathing Truth Social post, adding: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.
“I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” Trump said. “He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!”
Pope Leo addressed Donald Trump’s comments on Monday, insisting he would always champion peace. “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,” he informed reporters. “I don’t want to get into a debate with Trump.
“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” Leo continued while aboard a papal flight to Algiers, where he will embark on a 10-day tour across four African nations. “Too many people are suffering in the world today,” he said. “Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
Trump subsequently declined to offer an apology to the pope, telling journalists at a White House press conference on Monday that he has “nothing to apologise for” and that Pope Leo is “wrong”.
“There’s nothing to apologise for, he’s wrong, he didn’t like what we’re doing with respect to Iran, but Iran wants to be a nuclear nation so they can exterminate the world,” he said. “Not going to happen.”
