By Helen Coster and Joseph Ax
April 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure on Sunday, drawing widespread criticism even from some religious conservatives who typically support him, before deleting the post on Monday.
The post on Trump’s Truth Social platform came amid his escalating feud with Pope Leo, who has criticized the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran as inhumane. Shortly before publishing the image, the president posted a lengthy
screed against Pope Leo, calling him “WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, said in response to Trump’s attacks that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue to speak out. In a forceful speech on Monday in Algiers, he denounced “neocolonial” world powers who are violating international law, without specifically referring to the United States.
Sunday’s post, depicting Trump in a white robe with an apparently healing hand on a prone man's head, could create a rift between Trump and the religious right, whose support was critical to his victory in the 2024 election.
In the painting-like image, Trump holds a glowing orb in one hand and uses his other hand to touch a seemingly sick man on the forehead. The Statue of Liberty, fireworks, a fighter jet and eagles could be seen in the background.
The post was removed on Monday morning. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brilyn Hollyhand, who served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, wrote on X: “This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself.”
Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and outspoken critic of transgender athletes in women’s sports who has appeared with Trump at rallies, wrote on X she could not understand why Trump posted the image.
“Does he actually think this?” she wrote. “Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”
Trump, who does not attend church regularly, won large majorities of Christian voters in the 2024 election. He made gains among Catholic voters, who backed him by a 56% to 42% margin after splitting more evenly in previous elections, according to an analysis by Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Washington University and a former pastor.
After Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July 2024, some evangelical supporters said it was evidence https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-supporters-see-his-narrow-escape-death-gods-work-2024-07-16/ he had been blessed by God.
Last year, after the death of Pope Francis, Trump posted an image showing himself as pope https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-posts-ai-generated-photo-himself-pope-2025-05-03/, prompting outrage from many Catholics.
In recent weeks, Leo has become one of the most prominent critics https://www.reuters.com/world/leo-first-us-pope-emerges-pointed-trump-critic-2026-04-02/ of the war in Iran, even making an unusual direct appeal to Trump and urging him to find an “off-ramp.”
Leo has also said that Jesus cannot be used to justify war and that God rejects the prayers of those who start conflicts. Those remarks were widely seen as a rebuke to Trump officials like U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has cited scripture https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/evangelicals-amplify-trumps-religious-framing-iran-war-2026-04-08/ to justify the use of "overwhelming violence" against enemies and likened the rescue of a U.S. airman inside Iran to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Trump also feuded https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-migration-stance-overshadowed-ties-with-pope-francis-2025-04-25/ at times with Leo’s predecessor, Francis, who publicly opposed Trump’s deportation campaign as un-Christian.
At least eight members of Trump's cabinet are Catholic, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Bishop Robert Barron, who serves on a Trump-created religious liberty commission, said on X that the president owed Leo an apology for his "inappropriate" statements on social media. But he also praised Trump in the same post for his outreach to Catholics.
(Reporting by Helen Coster and Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by Joshua McElwee and Gram Slattery; editing by Donna Bryson and Alistair Bell)
