After Criticising Pope Leo, Trump Posts AI Image Depicting Himself as Jesus

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has refused to apologise after criticising Pope Leo, the head of the Catholic Church, over his position on the war in Iran. Trump stated this, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Trump’s assertion came after the US President shared an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus on his social media account, Truth Social.

The AI-generated image also showed Trump appearing to heal a sick man in a hospital bed.

Trump deleted the image after facing backlash, including from some of his most loyal supporters.

Trump acknowledged posting the image and told reporters that he thought it was “himself as a doctor” alongside a Red Cross worker.

The now-deleted image showed Trump, wearing a white robe, with a glowing hand on the forehead of a sick man, which critics said resembled religious paintings of Jesus healing the sick.

The background of the image included the Statue of Liberty, a large waving American flag, fighter jets, an eagle, as well as a nurse and a woman praying.

“And I do heal people. I heal people much better,” Trump said.

He later told CBS News, BBC’s US partner, that he deleted the image because he did not want anyone to be confused. “People were confused.”

Criticism of the image came quickly, including from figures considered close to Trump and his administration.

“This needs to be deleted immediately,” wrote Sean Feucht, a Christian activist organising a series of faith-based events to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence this year.

“There is no context in which this is acceptable,” he added.

Riley Gaines, a prominent conservative activist, wrote that “God must not be mocked”.

Much of the criticism also came from US religious news media.

“This has gone too far. This crosses the line,” wrote David Brody, a journalist from the Christian Broadcasting Network. “A supporter can support the mission and reject this.”