Washington (QNN)- Donald Trump has deleted a post featuring an AI-generated image of himself depicted as a Jesus-like figure following backlash, saying it was intended to portray him as a doctor. The post came amid a series of social media attacks on Pope Leo XIV, drawing criticism from across the Christian political spectrum.
Trump shared the image on Truth Social platform on Sunday and deleted it on Monday. It showed him in a white robe placing a hand on a man’s head in a scene resembling a healing.
When asked directly about the image, Trump denied intending to portray himself as Jesus.
“Did you post that picture of yourself depicted as Jesus Christ?” a reporter asked.
Trump replied: “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor. It had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker.”
Escalating Tensions With the Vatican
It was posted after a separate message in which Trump attacked the pope, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump also claimed, “He wasn't on any list to be Pope, and was put only there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
Trump further accused the Catholic Church leadership of “arresting priests and pastors” during the COVID-19 crisis. He suggested he preferred the pope’s brother, saying: “I like his brother Louis much better… Louis is all MAGA.”
He added: “I don’t want a pope who thinks it's ok for Iran to have nuclear weapons.”
Trump also implied that his election victory influenced the Church’s decision to appoint an American pope in May 2025.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pope Leo XIV rejected Trump’s remarks and emphasized his commitment to 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, what the Church is here to do," he said. “We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”
The pope spoke aboard a papal flight heading to Algeria at the start of a 10-day tour across four African countries.
Last week, Pope Leo XIV criticized Trump’s warning that “an entire civilization could die tonight,” referring to Iran. The pope called such statements “unacceptable” and warned that the “illusion of absolute power” fuels conflict between the United States and Iran.
Senior Catholic leaders in the US also pushed back against Trump’s remarks on the pope.
“I am disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father. Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician,” Archbishop Paul S Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement.
“He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls,” Coakley added.
In Las Vegas, Archbishop George Leo Thomas said he was “grateful to God for sending us Pope Leo XIV, who is willing to speak truth to power just when we need him the most”.
“Pope Leo is calling for dialogue over diatribe, prayer over politics, and diplomacy above destruction,” Thomas added.
Internationally, Trump’s remarks have also drawn condemnation. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the US president’s attack on Pope Leo was “unacceptable”.
“I find President Trump’s words towards the Holy Father unacceptable. The pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and to condemn every form of war,” she said in a statement.
The backlash was not limited to church leaders, with several conservative figures also criticising Trump’s posts, particularly the AI-generated image.
Brilyn Hollyhand, a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, wrote on X:
“This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a saviour when your record should speak for itself.”
Riley Gaines, a FOX News host, a former collegiate swimmer and outspoken critic of transgender athletes in women’s sports who has appeared with Trump at rallies, also questioned the post.
“Does he actually think this?” she wrote. “Either way, two things are true: 1) a little humility would serve him well, 2) God shall not be mocked.”
Megan Basham, a columnist for the conservative outlet Daily Wire, described the post as “OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy”.
“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 wrote.
She demanded Trump “take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God”.
Isabel Brown, also of the Daily Wire, said the image was “disgusting and unacceptable”, adding that “nothing matters more than Jesus” and arguing it reflected a misunderstanding of what she described as a renewed embrace of Christian faith in the United States.
The backlash also extended to Democrats, with Senator Bernie Sanders condemning Trump's comments as "egomaniacal".
“Trump is now attacking the pope for speaking out against war while posting images of himself as a messianic figure,” he wrote on X.
“This is not only offensive. It is deranged, egomaniacal behaviour.”
Bishop Robert Barron, who serves on a Trump-created religious liberty commission, said on X that the president owed Leo an apology for his “inappropriate” statements on social media. But he also praised Trump in the same post for his outreach to Catholics.
