US President Donald Trump is facing a growing backlash after posting an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure and launching a series of social media attacks against Pope Leo XIV, drawing criticism from across the Christian political spectrum.
The image, which was shared on Trump’s Truth social platform on Sunday and deleted on Monday, showed Trump in a white robe, seemingly placing his hand on a man’s head in a healing motion. The post followed another message in which President Trump criticized the pope, calling him “soft on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy.”
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President Trump later told reporters that although he posted the image, he thought it depicted him “as a doctor.”
“And as Red Cross employees, we have a relationship with the Red Cross and we support it. And only fake news could come up with something like that,” he said.
He also said, “I don’t want a pope who criticizes the president of the United States.”
“I don’t want to argue with him,” Pope Leo said Monday on his way to Algiers, where the first American-born pope is to begin an 11-day visit to four African countries.
“I continue to oppose war, seek to promote peace, promote dialogue between nations and multilateral relations, and continue to seek solutions to problems,” Pope Leo said.
“Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
“Pope Leo is not his rival”
Tensions between the White House and the Vatican have been rising in recent months, particularly over the US administration’s hardline immigration policies, military actions and the US-Israel war against Iran.
Leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States also objected to President Trump’s comments about the Pope.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement: “I am disappointed that the president has chosen to write such derogatory words about the Pope. Pope Leo is not a rival of the president, and the pope is not a politician.”
“He is a representative of Christ who speaks from the truth of the gospel and cares for souls,” Coakley added.
In Las Vegas, Archbishop George Leo Thomas said, “We are grateful to God for sending us Pope Leo XIV, who will speak truth to power when we need it most.”
“Pope Leo calls for dialogue over condemnation, prayer over politics, diplomacy over destruction,” Thomas added.
President Trump’s comments drew international condemnation. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the US president’s attack on the Pope was “unacceptable”.
“I find President Trump’s words about the Pope unacceptable. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and condemn all forms of war,” she said in a statement.
Criticism from conservatives
The backlash was not limited to church leaders; several conservative figures also criticized Trump’s posts, particularly the AI-generated images.
Brillyn Holyhand, former co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, wrote of X:
“This is a terrible blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. There is no need to paint yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself.”
Riley Gaines, a Fox News host and former college swimmer who is an outspoken critic of transgender athletes in women’s sports and who attended the rally with Trump, also questioned the post.
“Does he really think that?” she wrote. “In any case, two things are true: 1) A little humility will serve God, and 2) God will not be mocked.”
Megan Basham, a columnist for the conservative Daily Wire, called the post “an outrageous blasphemy.”
“I don’t know if the president thought he was crazy or if he was under the influence of some substance or what explanation there is for this,” she wrote.
She called on President Trump to “immediately withdraw this and ask forgiveness from the American people and from God.”
Isabel Brown, also of the Daily Wire, called the image “disgusting and unacceptable,” adding that “nothing is more important than Jesus,” and argued that it reflected a new acceptance of the Christian faith in the United States and a misunderstanding of what she represented.
The backlash also spread to Democrats, with Sen. Bernie Sanders calling Trump’s comments “self-centered.”
“Trump is currently attacking the Pope for speaking out against the war while posting images that project him as a messianic figure,” he wrote on X.
“This is not just disgusting; it’s erratic and self-centered behavior.”
Trump support among Christian voters
Mr. Trump, who does not attend church regularly, had strong support from Christian voters in the 2024 election, including a majority of Catholics who supported Mr. Trump 56% to 42%, according to an analysis by University of Washington political scientist Ryan Burge.
After President Trump narrowly escaped death in an assassination attempt in July 2024, some evangelical supporters described the moment as proof of God’s protection.
Last year, following the death of Pope Francis, President Trump also released an image depicting himself as the Pope, sparking anger among many Catholics.
Bishop Robert Barron, a member of the Commission on Religious Freedom created by President Trump, said on X that the president owed Leo an apology for his “inappropriate” comments on social media. But in the same post, he also praised President Trump’s support for Catholics.
