Trump faces outrage over AI Jesus post and swipe at Pope Leo XIV

US President Donald Trump is facing mounting backlash after posting an AI-generated image of himself resembling Jesus Christ and attacking Pope Leo XIV, prompting criticism from Christians.

The image, which Trump shared on Truth Social on Sunday (April 12) and later deleted on Monday (April 13), showed him dressed in white and placing his hand on a man’s head in a scene suggesting he was healing him.

The post appeared after Trump criticised the Pope, accusing him of being “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”.

Trump later told reporters that he had posted the image because he believed it portrayed him as a doctor.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as the doctor, and it had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” he said, adding that only the fake news could have misinterpreted the photo.

“I don’t want to get into a debate with him,” Pope Leo said on Monday while travelling to Algiers. The pontiff, the first pope born in the United States, is beginning an 11-day visit to four African countries.

The Pope added: “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among states in search of just solutions to problems.”

“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” the Pope told reporters. “Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say: ‘There’s a better way.’”

Senior Catholic leaders in the United States also condemned Trump’s remarks about 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.

International criticism also followed Trump’s attack on the Pope. 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,” Meloni said in a statement.

A number of prominent conservative figures also criticised Trump’s posts, particularly the AI-generated image.

Brilyn Hollyhand, former co-chair of the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council, wrote on X: “This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself.”

Megan Basham, a columnist for conservative outlet The Daily Wire, described the post as deeply blasphemous. 

“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 OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” she said, while calling on Trump to delete the post immediately and apologise to Americans and to God.

Bishop Robert Barron, who serves on the Religious Liberty Commission established by Trump, wrote on X that the President should apologise to Pope Leo for his inappropriate remarks on social media. In the same post, however, he praised Trump for engaging with Catholics.

According to analysis by Ryan Burge, a political scientist at Washington University, Trump, who does not attend church regularly, received strong support from Christian voters in the 2024 election, including a majority of Catholics, who backed him by 56% to 42%.

After Trump survived an assassination attempt in July 2024, some evangelical supporters described the incident as evidence of divine protection.

A similar controversy erupted last year after the death of Pope Francis, when Trump shared an image depicting himself as pope, provoking anger among many Catholics.