WASHINGTON — President Trump’s Sunday night post on Truth Social featured an AI-generated image that appears to depict him in the likeness of Jesus Christ, and it didn’t land quietly. Even some of his most outspoken supporters seemed to react with real discomfort, not the usual shrug.
The image shows the president in a white robe and red sash, with a ball of light in one hand and the other extended in a healing gesture. It was posted on Orthodox Easter, and it arrived exactly one week after other Christians in the U.S. and around the world marked Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. On Monday morning, the president had not apologized for the image, and he had not removed it. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For a lot of conservative figures, the issue wasn’t just politics—it was the religious symbolism. “Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this,” conservative activist Riley Gaines, who has been one of the administration’s most prominent voices on transgender athletes in women’s sports, said in a post. She added, “Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”
Others were more direct. Conservative media figure Cam Higby wrote, “Blaspmy from the Oval Office is not a funny troll,” and said he assumed someone had already told Trump, but argued “it behooves the president both spiritually and politically to delete the picture, no matter the intent.” Michael Knowles, a conservative author and podcaster, similarly urged removal, calling the image inappropriate. Meanwhile Ari Fleischer, a Fox News contributor and former White House press secretary in the George W. Bush administration, wrote simply, “It’s inappropriate and embarrassing. It’s offensive.”
The reaction even spilled into sharper criticism. Former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted that on Orthodox Easter Trump “attacked the Pope” and then turned around and posted “this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus.” She also referenced last week’s post, describing it as an “evil tirade” on Easter and a threat “to kill an entire civilization,” then said, “I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!”
Greene wasn’t the only one invoking Christian language. Conservative Christian commentator Allie Beth Stuckey responded with a meme, a smaller gesture—but it still pointed to the same discomfort. And the timing, with the president’s post closely following another message aimed at Pope Leo XIV, gave the backlash extra fuel. In response to the pope’s remarks, the Vatican leader said: “I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel,” and added he was speaking about “inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges for peace and reconciliation,” and ways “to avoid war anytime that’s possible.”
Before Trump’s version circulated, right-wing influencer Nick Adams had posted the image months earlier. When Adams shared it, he wrote: “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.” Trump’s Sunday post, however, came as an edited variation—keeping the robe, sash, and healing gesture, but adjusting the image to more closely match him. It also arrived after Trump in March selected Adams to serve as special presidential envoy for American tourism, exceptionalism and values. Adams’s framing—healing the nation—now sits uncomfortably beside what many commenters say looks like a self-mythologizing resemblance to Jesus.
There’s a strange quiet after moments like this. In offices, screens glow, notifications stack up, and someone inevitably reaches for the volume—like the faint echo of Easter service audio still lingering in the building hallway, then cutting off as the next alert comes through. Trump, for now, has left the post up. And whether the White House steps in—or the president finally explains what he meant, if anything—remains the unanswered part of a story that still feels like it’s moving faster than anyone can quite catch.
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