President Donald Trump says he personally posted an AI-generated image that showed him depicted in a Christ-like role—then insisted it wasn’t meant to portray him as Jesus Christ at all.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump admitted the post and quickly reframed it. “I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor,” he said, adding, “Only the fake news could come up with that one.”
The image, which has since been removed from his Truth Social account, showed Trump wearing what appeared to be a white robe and red sash. In the scene, he appeared to be healing a man with his hands. The styling is strongly associated with depictions of Jesus, particularly after his resurrection, which is part of why it sparked such fast backlash. The post went up on Orthodox Easter, the day that marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ—one of those coincidences that makes people suspicious even if you’re not looking for a fight.
“I said, how did they come up with that? It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better, and I do make people better. I do make people a lot better,” Trump told reporters, insisting the intention was medical rather than religious. Supporters who already like him fiercely did not all follow his framing, though. The post triggered outrage from some of his own, right-wing backers, who accused him of blasphemy.
The remark came shortly after Trump’s latest public criticism of Pope Leo XIV. In a social media post Sunday, he called the pope “weak on crime” and said he does not want him leading the Roman Catholic Church because of their political differences. Trump then escalated his criticism with a personal argument about how the pope got the job—saying, “Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise.”
He went further, arguing that Leo “wasn’t on any list to be Pope” and that he was only placed into the role because he was American—“and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.” Trump also said, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” It’s the kind of line that plays well in partisan circles, but also lands like a jab in places where religion and diplomacy tend to overlap.
On Monday, the pope responded in a calmer tone when asked about Trump’s comments, telling reporters he is “not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.” The pope said he would “continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems.” As he spoke, the air outside the White House seemed full of that familiar late-day newsroom energy—subdued voices, brisk footfalls, and the faint smell of coffee drifting somewhere near the curb—like everyone was already bracing for the next headline.
Trump’s new defense of the image—however he chooses to label it—also leaves a basic question hanging in the background: when a depiction is visually tied to Jesus and shared on a major Christian holiday, how much room is there for the “I’m just a doctor” explanation to feel convincing to the people who see it differently? Actually…maybe that’s the point now. The controversy is moving faster than any clarification, and the back-and-forth doesn’t look like it’s slowing down.
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