Jimmy Kimmel, who has previously spoken out against Melania Trump, criticized an image of Donald Trump depicted as Jesus Christ. The president attracted quite a lot of spotlight upon himself this week. Trump recently got into a heated battle with Pope Leo over his comments on war. The first-ever U.S.-born pontiff has called the Iran war pointless, calling it “atrocious violence.”
While the Pope didn’t take any names, he urged world leaders to let go of any “delusion of omnipotence” because “God does not bless any conflict.” Donald Trump and other members of the Trump administration criticized the Pontiff. “How can you say that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword?” said during a Tuning Point USA event.
Pope Leo XIV responds to President Trump:
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do and what the Church is here to do.” pic.twitter.com/O0AK1l20Aj
— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) April 13, 2026
“Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps? It’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology … you’ve got to make sure it’s anchored in the truth.” While the Vice President took a measured approach in responding to the Pope, Donald Trump launched a far more aggressive attack. The president called Pope Leo “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy.” He also urged the Pope to “get his act together.”
However, to make matters worse, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social. The image drew criticism from supporters and critics alike. Jimmy Kimmel made use of the opportunity to poke fun at the Truth Social post of Trump as Jesus.
According to The Independent, Kimmel stated that Trump “upset every faction of Christianity” with his statement. He continued, “After he lambasted the pope, he posted an image of himself as Jesus, and then, when everyone got mad, he said, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that was Jesus, I thought that was me as a doctor healing people,’ which is so lame. Not one person believes it. It is quite clearly an image of Jesus with his dumb head on it.”
“Why did I get kicked off the air again?”—Jimmy Kimmel on JD Vance explaining that Trump’s Jesus post was intended to be a joke. pic.twitter.com/5x97a1jffn
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) April 15, 2026
Vance, who had previously criticized the Pope, offered a different explanation, calling the Truth Social Jesus image “a joke.” Kimmel poked fun at the Trump administration’s inconsistency, stating, “He was posting a joke, you understand? And like all the best jokes, it had to be explained and then deleted. First, he was Jesus. Then he wasn’t Jesus, he was a doctor. And now, it was a joke.”
Kimmel then joked about his show being suspended in 2025 for comments he made on Charlie Kirk’s death. “Why did I get kicked off the air again? I can’t remember,” Jimmy Kimmel said as he finished his segment on Trump’s image as Jesus. That said, Kimmel wasn’t the only one joking about the controversial Jesus image, as various other late-night TV hosts, including Stephen Colbert, also commented on the controversy.
