US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office in Washington on Monday (April 13th), defended a controversial social media post that depicted him as a healer-style Christ, insisting it was meant to show him as a doctor, not a religious man.
Responding to questions about the AI-generated image, Trump rejected the comparison to Jesus Christ.
“It wasn’t shown. It was me,” he said.
He added: “I posted it thinking it was me as a doctor and it had to do with the Red Cross as a Red Cross worker that we support.”
Trump dismissed the criticism as media bias, saying: “Only fake news can come up with that.
He further questioned the reaction: “So I just heard about it and I was like, ‘How did they come up with that?’ It should have been me as a doctor.”
Artificial intelligence prompts backlash and deletion
An image posted on Truth Social, now deleted, shows a robed Trump placing his hand on a bedridden man, with glowing lighting effects and patriotic symbols including the American flag and the Statue of Liberty.
The post was later removed after prompting a swift backlash, including from some conservative supporters who said it crossed a religious line.
Quarrel with Pope Leo XIV
The controversy developed alongside a growing feud between Trump and Pope Leo XIV. regarding the American-Israeli war against Iran.
Trump previously criticized the pope, calling him “WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy,” saying, “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.
Pope Leo XIV: ‘No fear’ of the Trump administration
Pope Leo XIV he responded decisively, saying he would not be cowed by political pressure from Washington.
“I am not afraid, neither of the Trump administration, nor of speaking out loud about the message of the Gospel,” the Pope said.
He emphasized the mission of the Church in building peace, adding: “I say the mission of the Church is very clear.” “The Gospel says… Blessed are the peacemakers.”
He added that the church has a “moral obligation to speak out very clearly against war and in favor of peace and reconciliation.”
The Pope also said he “doesn’t intend to debate” with Trump, stressing: “I am not a politician.”
Trump refuses to apologize
When asked if he would apologize to the Pope, Trump was firm in his answer.
“No, I don’t because Pope Leo has said things that are wrong,” he said.
“He was very opposed to what I was doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran.
Trump also repeated his criticism of the pope, saying that Pope Leo is “very weak on crime.”
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