US president deletes AI image of himself as a Jesus-like figure amid a deepening feud with Pope Leo

US President Donald Trump on Monday defended his now deleted social media post that appeared to depict himself as Jesus Christ, contending that it was meant to portray him as “a doctor” after right-wing figures continued a recent trend of pushing back on the president’s recent comments.

“Well, it wasn’t a depiction. It was me, I did post it. And I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross,” Trump said during an impromptu event at the White House. “There was a Red Cross worker there, which we support. And only the fake news could come up with that one.”

In the apparently AI-generated image, Trump floats over an impaired man while wearing ancient robe-like garbs like those worn by Jesus in artistic renderings of Christianity’s most important figure. Light emanates from Trump’s hands as he places one hand on the bedridden man’s forehead, the sky lighting up behind him, while others look up at him, including one person with hands folded in prayer.

“I just heard about it, and I said: ‘How did they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better,” Trump told reporters. “And I do make people better.”

The now deleted social media post that appeared to depict Donald Trump as Jesus. Photo: @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

Trump made the comments alongside a DoorDash driver who delivered him two bags of McDonald’s food and touted his “no tax on tips” policy that was included in Republicans’ 2025 budget reconciliation bill. Trump also asked the DoorDash driver, Sharon Simmons, whether she thinks men should play in women’s sports.

After a brief pause, Simmons replied: “I really don’t have an opinion on that”.

Trump’s comments came amid dipping overall approval numbers in a series of recent polls, as well as low marks from voters on the Iran war and his handling of the economy.

The Jesus-like meme drew the ire of some vocal right-wing figures days before Trump was slated to speak at an event in Arizona hosted by the conservative activist organisation Turning Point USA.

Trump defends now-deleted post of himself as Jesus-like meme, says won’t apologise to Pope

Former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former staunch Trump-ally-turned-critic, slammed the post on X. “On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus,” Greene wrote. “This comes after last week’s post of his evil tirade on Easter and then threatening to kill an entire civilization. I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!”

Conservative political pundit Michael Knowles wrote in his own X post, referring to Trump: “I assume someone has already told him, but it behooves the President both spiritually and politically to delete the picture, no matter the intent”.

Trump during the same exchange with journalists refused to apologise to Pope Leo. Trump wrote in a social media post Sunday that the first US-born pope has said “things that are wrong” about the US-Israeli war with Iran.

“No, I don’t,” Trump responded when asked by reporters if he planned to apologise for the comments about Leo, who has objected to the Iran conflict on moral grounds.

US President Donald Trump receives a McDonald’s delivery on Monday. Photo: Reuters

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I’m doing … with regard to Iran,” Trump said Monday. “You cannot have a nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result. … You have hundreds of millions of people dead, and it’s not going to happen.”

Trump then doubled down on his criticism. He dubbed the pontiff “very weak on crime and other things” and blamed him for the public dust-up.

“I mean, he, but he went public. I’m just responding to Pope Leo,” Trump said. “And, you know, his brother is a big Maga person, and he’s a great guy, Lewis. And I said, ‘I like Lewis better than I like the pope’.”

The pope, during a Saturday prayer service at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, panned what he called the “delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” adding: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.”

In response, Trump rebuked Leo in a social media post on Sunday: “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do,” Trump wrote. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”