The backlash came swift and fast after President Donald Trump posted and then deleted an AI-generated image that seemed to depict himself as Jesus. The internet was flooded with people, bipartisan and religious, who criticize the post, and eventually forced him to publicly defend it.
Trump shared an image on Truth Social, showing himself dressed in white robe. He was placing his hand on a sick man on a hospital bed, while white light seemed to emit from his hands. In the background was an American flag, soldiers, military aircraft, and even the statue of Liberty. The picture was in the style of traditional images of Jesus Christ healing the sick. According to Raw Story, the image quickly drew attention and condemnation from Christian individuals who found the post inappropriate and offensive.
Q: Did you post that picture of yourself depicted as Jesus?
Trump: I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor. And had to do with red cross as a red cross worker pic.twitter.com/aK4rAxijzT
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) April 13, 2026
The president defended his social media post when he spoke to reporters at the White House. While he admitted that he had indeed posted the image, he rejected the widespread interpretation of it meaning that he was seeing himself as the Messiah.
A reporter asked him about the post that depicted him “as Jesus Christ.” Trump responded by saying, “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor.”
He continued, “Only the fake news could come up with that one. I just heard about it and I said ‘how did they come up with that?'” It appears that he didn’t address that it wasn’t only the media that had latched onto the idea that the person healing the sick man was Christ.
He added, “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better! And I do make people better, I make people a lot better!” Trump pointed to the fact that he does improve the lives of people, and framed it in such a way that the intention of the image was symbolic of his leadership and not religious. Even though he defended the image, it was later removed from his account without a clear explanation.
Trump’s Truth Social post came shortly after he criticized Pope Leo XIV about opposing the military operations in Iran. The pope had condemned the conflict and taken to social media to share his thoughts about what was happening.
Reporter: Why did you attack Pope Leo?
Trump: I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess. We don’t like a pope who says it’s ok to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is ok. I am not a fan of Pope Leo. pic.twitter.com/cj3oh1jSIL
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026
“God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” Leo penned. “Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples,” he said.
The pope’s statement can be seen as a response to the Trump administration who have repeatedly invoked God’s name during the war in Iran. Pete Hegseth has labeled the conflict as a war “in the name of Jesus Christ,” and during Easter weekend, even compared the rescue of the downed crew member from a fighter jet to Christ’s resurrection, and has even labeled the conflict as a war “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
The defense secretary described it, saying, “Shot down on a Friday, Good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday, flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn. All home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good.”
