Trump Is The New Pope? US President Faces Backlash For Sharing AI-Generated Image Of Himself
Critics accused him of disrespecting the church and mocking Pope Francis's death. The post came after Trump's joke about wanting to be the next Pope.
US President Donald Trump faced heavy backlash on social media on Saturday after he posted an AI-generated photo of himself as the pope. This comes just days after he jokingly said he would "like to be Pope" after Pope Francis passed away on April 22 at the age of 88.
Trump's post irked many on social media who slammed him saying the post was insensitive and accused him of mocking the pontiff's death.
Pope Francis breathed his last on April 22 after suffering a stroke and heart failure, stated Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli in a death certificate released last week.
While some users found Trump's post hilarious, others lashed out at him for disrespecting the church. “This is disrespectful to the church and God himself… he’s literally the antichrist,” one person remarked.
View this post on Instagram
"It's full-on lunacy at this point," said another while a third said he "is not right in the head."
"You really posted this thinking you’re the Pope? This is ridiculous, disrespectful, and dripping with ego. Try showing some humility for once," a user commented on his post on Instagram.
The image was shared by the official X handle of the White House as well on the social media platform.
'I'd Like To Be Pope'
On Wednesday, Trump celebrated his 100th day in the White House -- a second term marked by mass deportations, federal workforce slashes, and a turbulent stock market.
On being asked by a reporter who he would like to succeed Pope Francis, Trump quipped: “I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice.”
“I have no preference," he added. "I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”
Donald Trump, along with wife Melania, was among several world leaders who flew to Rome to attend the Pope's funeral. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni also attended the funeral.
Top Headlines
