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After Criticizing Pope, Trump Posts Image of Himself as a Jesus-Like Figure

The image, posted on Truth Social, appeared to be A.I.-generated and depicts the president as a divine leader healing the sick.

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President Trump has posted several apparently A.I.-generated images of himself over the last year, sometimes drawing significant backlash.

Credit...

Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

By

Claire Moses

April 13, 2026,

7:56 a.m. ET

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Shortly after criticizing Pope Leo XIV in a lengthy social media post on Sunday, President Trump shared an apparently A.I.-generated image depicting him as a Jesus-like figure.

The

image

, which was posted on the president’s account on his social media platform, Truth Social, shows Mr. Trump dressed in white and red robes. In the illustration, the president’s hands emit shining lights, and his right hand is touching the forehead of a man lying on a bed, wearing a hospital gown. The image evokes religious art depicting Jesus healing the sick.

The illustration was posted without commentary, less than an hour after Mr. Trump

criticized Pope Leo XIV

in another post, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” The pope, the first American-born pontiff to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, has spoken out against the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, condemning the “absurd and inhuman violence” unleashed by the fighting.

Responding to Mr. Trump’s comments, the pope

said Monday

that he has “no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do.”

In the image posted on Sunday, the man in the bed is surrounded by figures looking up at Mr. Trump, including a person in a medical uniform with a stethoscope around their neck, a praying woman and a man in a camouflage uniform. The background of the image includes the Statue of Liberty, a building resembling the Lincoln Memorial, fighter jets, eagles, fireworks and a billowing American flag.

Mr. Trump has posted a number of apparently A.I.-generated images of himself on social media over the last year, sometimes drawing significant backlash. In May 2025, after the death of Pope Francis, Mr. Trump posted an

image of himself as pontiff

, drawing criticism, including from Catholics.

In February 2025, Mr. Trump posted an image of himself wearing a crown on a magazine cover resembling Time, but called Trump, as he

likened himself to a king

.

Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.

See more on:

Donald Trump

,

Roman Catholic Church

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