Trump attacks Pope Francis, posts deleted AI image depicting himself as Jesus
Former U.S. President Donald Trump launched a public attack on Pope Francis late Sunday, calling the pontiff "weak" and claiming his Vatican influence stems from Trump's election to the White House. Trump shared an AI-generated image portraying himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick before deleting it Monday following backlash and blasphemy accusations from religious conservatives. The incident marks an escalation in Trump's rhetoric toward the Catholic Church leadership and has drawn sharp condemnation from faith communities. Trump subsequently removed the image after mounting criticism.
Verified
- ✓Trump attacked Pope Francis, calling him 'weak.' (Source: France 24 reporting on Trump's Sunday statements)
- ✓Trump posted an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick. (Source: France 24 documentation of the image)
- ✓Trump claimed the Pope's Vatican position resulted from Trump's own election to the White House. (Source: France 24 account of Trump's statements)
- ✓Trump deleted the image on Monday following backlash. (Source: France 24 reporting on Monday deletion)
- ✓The image deletion followed criticism on blasphemy grounds from religious conservatives. (Source: France 24 account of reaction)
Interpretation
- ~The incident represents an escalation in Trump's rhetoric toward Catholic Church leadership. (Source: France 24 framing the attack as 'extraordinary')
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- Reported
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- 1 of 15 major US outlets
- Published
- April 13, 2026 at 7:03 PM PDT
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🌍 World View — How others are covering this
President Donald Trump responded to questions about a post on Truth Social showing an AI-generated image appearing to depict him as Jesus by claiming he thought the photo showed him as a doctor, and attributed the confusion to "fake news." The post emerged amid an ongoing dispute between Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff's criticism of the U.S.-Iran war, which prompted Trump to post a lengthy message criticizing the Pope.
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