West Palm Beach: U.S. President Donald Trump has drawn widespread backlash after posting an AI-generated image of himself as the pope, just days before the Catholic Church begins its conclave to elect a new leader following the death of Pope Francis.
Trump, who is not Catholic and does not attend church regularly, shared the digitally altered image on his Truth Social platform late Friday. The White House later reposted it on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 3, 2025
The image shows Trump dressed in white papal vestments and headdress, seated unsmiling in an ornate chair with his right forefinger raised in a gesture resembling a papal blessing. The post came less than a week after Trump attended the funeral of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88.
The post drew swift condemnation on social media, particularly on X, where the group Republicans Against Trump—which identifies as “pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism”—reposted the image and called it “a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith.”
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to comment when asked about the image during a press briefing on the upcoming papal conclave, set to begin May 7.
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wrote on X: “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown. In the meantime, the American economy risks recession and the dollar loses value.”
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In the United States, the Catholic bishops of New York expressed their dismay, writing on X: “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”
Trump had joked earlier in the week that he would be his “own first choice” to become pope, adding that there was a “very good” candidate in New York—Cardinal Timothy Dolan. While Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, is not considered a leading contender, another American, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, is reportedly on the shortlist. The Catholic Church has never had a pope from the United States.
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This is not the first time Trump has shared provocative AI-generated imagery. In February, both his and the White House’s social media accounts posted another altered image of the president wearing a crown with the caption: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
Despite the criticism, Trump’s supporters appeared unfazed. Outside his golf club in West Palm Beach on Saturday morning, a group of backers gathered to greet his motorcade. Among them was 60-year-old Debbie Macchia, who defended the post. “He was clearly joking. Clearly joking,” she said. “But I wouldn’t want to see them do anything sacrilegious with the pope, or anything.”
