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In an unexpected twist on Monday, President Trump clarified to reporters that a widely-circulated AI-generated image, which seemed to depict him as Jesus Christ, was in fact intended to show him as a doctor engaged in healing. “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” Trump explained outside of the Oval Office.
“Only the fake news could come up with that one,” Trump commented, addressing the confusion. “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 and I do make people better,” he added, emphasizing his belief in the image’s intended message.
The image was initially posted by Trump late Sunday, amidst an ongoing verbal exchange with Pope Leo XIV. The artwork portrayed Trump in what looked like religious attire, placing his hand on a sick individual’s head, surrounded by symbols of American patriotism such as the American flag, eagles, and the Statue of Liberty, as well as other celestial figures.
Trump originally posted the image late Sunday amid his war of words with Pope Leo XIV.
The image shows Trump in what appears to be religious garb with his hand on a sick man’s head. In the image, he’s surrounded by his followers, an American flag, eagles and the Statue of Liberty, along with other figures in the sky.
Light casts out from Trump’s hands and the sky, as a woman behind the sick man whom Trump is healing prays.
The image was removed from Trump’s Truth Social account earlier Monday following unusually fierce backlash from a number of the president’s supporters online, who appeared to interpret the image as Trump portraying Jesus.
“Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?” conservative political activist Riley Gaines wrote on the social platform X early Monday.
“Either way, two things are true,” she wrote. “1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”
Conservative political commentator Michael Knowles weighed in by saying, “I assume someone has already told him, but it behooves the President both spiritually and politically to delete the picture, no matter the intent.”
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wrote on X that she was “praying against” the post.
“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,” she 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!!!”