US President Donald Trump on Monday deleted a social media image apparently depicting him as Jesus after an outcry from religious leaders that he was being blasphemous.

The image posted on Trump’s Truth Social platform showed him in flowing red and white robes, touching the forehead of what appeared to be a sick man and with light shining from his hand and head.

An American flag waved in the background while various figures gazed up at the president in reverence.

The AI picture was posted late Sunday and removed Monday.

Asked about the post, Trump denied that he was trying to look like Jesus Christ.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do Red Cross,” he told journalists. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”

The post generated an outcry from a series of prominent conservative Christians who are among Trump’s biggest backers.

“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,” Megan Basham, a conservative journalist and commentator wrote on X.

“He needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”

Trump has previously used religious images in his posts. During his 2023 bank fraud trial, he shared a sketch from a supporter that showed him sitting next to Jesus in the courtroom.

His advisors have also repeatedly cast him in a Jesus-like role.

During an Easter lunch event at the White House earlier this month, Paula White-Cain, a televangelist who has served as his spiritual advisor, likened Trump to Jesus. “You were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It’s a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us.”

Trump has more avidly embraced his perceived messianic role after the July 2024 assassination attempt, said Matthew Taylor, a visiting scholar at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University who studies Christian nationalism.

“Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason, and that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness,” Trump told supporters in his victory speech after his 2024 election win.

The Jesus image post could further fracture Trump’s base at a time when they are questioning the Middle East war, particularly Catholics offended by his public spat with Pope Leo, who has criticized the US bombing of Iran, Taylor told AFP.

“A lot of right-wing supporters were already pushing back against the war in Iran. The rift was already emerging for a lot of his Catholic base, and with the denunciations of Pope Leo this does threaten to alienate that crowd,” Taylor said.

But Kristin du Mez, a historian at Calvin University, doesn’t see the support among his die-hard fans wavering.

His conservative Christian supporters “are keeping their distance from what would clearly count as blasphemy,” she said.

“But I also see a lot of dodging. Yes, blasphemy is bad, this is inappropriate, he should take this down,” du Mez told AFP. “What I’m not seeing is in any way suggesting that they’re not going to continue supporting the man.”

…Iranian president condemns Trump’s attack on Pope as desecration of Jesus

Pope Leo XIV has responded to recent criticisms from US President Donald Trump, asserting that his mission is rooted in the Gospel and he has no fear of the American president.

Speaking to journalists on Monday during a flight to Algeria—the first leg of his African tour—the Pontiff addressed Trump’s labels and accusations regarding global security.

According to Vatican News, the Pope stressed that he does “not see my role as that of a politician. I am not a politician, and I do not want to enter into a debate with him.”

Addressing Trump’s claims, where the President called the Pope a “liberal person” who “doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” the Pope said, “I do not think the message of the Gospel should be abused as some are doing.

“I continue to speak strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue, and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems.”

The Pope reiterated his mission of peace, urging all world leaders to pursue reconciliation, saying, “Too many innocent lives have been lost, and I believe someone must stand up and say there is a better way. I say this to all world leaders, not only him: let us end wars and promote peace and reconciliation.”

The pontiff reportedly added, “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.”

“We are not politicians,” he argued. “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’s comments come after President Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday that he was “not a big fan” of the Pontiff, and accused him of “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon” following the global leader of Catholics’ plea for peace.

The exchange comes as the Pope begins an 11-day tour of Africa.

AFP reports that the papal visit to Africa takes in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, and will cover more than 18,000 kilometres (11,000 miles) between April 13 and 23.

On his first stop in Algiers, the pope reportedly met with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and was also set to address diplomats.

Monday’s itinerary was also reported to include a visit to the Great Mosque of Algiers — home to the world’s highest minaret — and the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, overlooking the Bay of Algiers.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has publicly condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of Pope Leo XIV, describing the remarks as an insult to the pontiff and a desecration of Jesus Christ.

Trump said on Sunday that he is “not a big fan” of Leo XIV, saying he is “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.”

He made the comments in response to the 70-year-old American pope’s criticism of ongoing conflicts involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran.

Trump argued that the pontiff had unfairly criticised his administration while overlooking actions taken against religious gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” the U.S. president said.

He added that he does not “want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” and said, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”

The remarks sparked global outrage.

Reacting in a post on X on Monday, Pezeshkian wrote, “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex), I condemn the insult to Your Excellency on behalf of the great nation of Iran, and declare that the desecration of Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person. I wish you glory by Allah.”

US under Trump’s directive and in collaboration with Israel, launched missile strikes on Iran in February under Operation Epic Fury, sparking retaliation from Iran, which struck some nations in the Gulf.

A reconciliation meeting was held in Islamabad, Pakistan, over the weekend but ended in deadlock.

US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he is “not a big fan” of Pope Leo XIV, after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for peace amid the war in the Middle East.

The 70-year-old American pope publicly implored leaders on Saturday to end the violence, telling worshippers at St Peter’s Basilica: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

He accused the pontiff of “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon.”

Trump later doubled down on his comments to reporters with a post on Truth Social, saying: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” he said.

The president added that Leo had only been elected “because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”

Trump later posted an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as Jesus Christ.

In the image, the president appears dressed in red and white robes as he cures a man with his healing hand. The American flag is shown over his shoulder.

Trump and the White House have previously shared AI-generated images, including one that showed the president dressed as the pope.

Washington and the Vatican have rejected reports of a rift.

On Friday, a Vatican official denied reports that a top Pentagon official gave the church’s envoy to the United States a “bitter lecture” over Pope Leo’s criticisms of the Trump administration.

The story in the Free Press, which the Pentagon had already dismissed as “distorted,” reported that Cardinal Christophe Pierre was summoned in January to the Pentagon, where he was given a dressing-down by US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby.

The military official reportedly told the cardinal that the United States “has the military power to do whatever it wants, and that the Church had better take its side.”


Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement “the account presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth in any way.”

While both parties insist the meeting was cordial, the Holy See and the White House have openly been at odds over the Trump administration’s hardline mass deportation campaign — which the pope called “inhuman” — and the use of military force in the Middle East and Venezuela.

When Trump made genocidal threats against Iran Tuesday — saying “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” — the pontiff slammed the “truly unacceptable” statement and urged parties to “come back to the table” for negotiations.

Earlier this month, Pope Leo hailed the news of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran as a “sign of real hope.”

But peace talks between the United States and Iran, held in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, ended abruptly and without a resolution on Saturday, with US Vice President JD Vance telling reporters after a marathon-session of talks that Washington has delivered its “final and best offer.”



AFP