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WASHINGTON (OSV News) — President Donald Trump posted an image that appeared to be created by artificial intelligence depicting himself as pope just days after making a comment to reporters that he would like to become the next pope.
The image drew condemnation from some church leaders and commentators, while some defended it as a jest.
Trump posted the AI image of himself in what appeared to be the traditional vestments of the pope late in the evening on May 2 on his website Truth Social, with no caption. But the image sparked controversy when it was shared on the official White House X account.
Robert Schmuhl, professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, who critically observes the modern American presidency, told OSV News, “Donald Trump has a strange sense of humor.”
Intended to Be Funny?
“He recently told Time that his vow of quickly ending the Ukraine war on ‘day one’ of his presidency ‘was said in jest,” Schmuhl said May 3. “Now he’s circulating an image of him as the pope. Is this really intended to be funny? Millions of Catholics in America and abroad certainly won’t think so.”
Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, said Trump should apologize for the image, which he called “deeply offensive to Catholics especially during this sacred time that we are still mourning the death of Pope Francis and praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the election of our new Pope.”
“He owes an apology,” Bishop Paprocki said, arguing, “‘Make no mistake: God is not mocked’ (Galatians 6:7). The Pope is the Vicar of Christ. By publishing a picture of himself masquerading as the Pope, President Trump mocks God, the Catholic Church, and the Papacy.”
Joshua Mercer, vice president of CatholicVote, a right-leaning political advocacy organization that endorsed Trump’s presidential bid, argued in a statement, “Trump’s joking meme depicting himself as the pope was obviously intended to be humorous.”
Memes of Famous People as Pope ‘Everywhere’
“There is no need to imagine that he believes he could be pope, or that he intended to mock the papacy,” Mercer said. “Memes depicting famous people as the new pope have been playfully circulating on social media everywhere for the past week.”
But the New York State Catholic Conference wrote on X, “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President.”
“We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter,” the conference’s post said. “Do not mock us.”
Asked for comment, Dennis Poust, executive director of that organization, said, “It is difficult to say what the president’s intent was in posting the photo but a reasonable person would easily conclude that it would likely be offensive to Catholics, especially as we are still mourning Pope Francis.”
A ‘Shocking and Offensive’ Post
“I don’t believe President Trump is anti-Catholic but the post was definitely shocking and offensive to many and I hope he pulls it down and stops this peculiar line of trolling or whatever it is he is doing,” Poust said. “The fact that the official White House X account shared it made the whole thing worse in my mind, since it gave the post the weight of the Office of President, as opposed to just being perhaps a crude joke by Donald Trump, the individual.”
The post came a few days after Trump was asked by a reporter about who he would like to see become the next Catholic pontiff, and appeared to joke in reply, “I’d like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice.”
But then Trump said he had no preference, adding, “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,” in reference to Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, whom Trump named to a religious liberty commission the same week.
In his statement, Mercer argued, “Today’s loudest critics were shamefully silent for four years as President (Joe) Biden, himself a Catholic, was a manifest scandal to the Church.”
‘Church Has Survived Worse’
“That said, this is a solemn time of prayer and discernment for the whole Catholic Church that should not be diminished,” Mercer said. “Everyone understands what happens in Rome in the coming days will have lasting significance for the whole world. The Church has survived far worse over the past two millennia.”
Vice President JD Vance defended Trump on X, arguing, “As a general rule, I’m fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen,” Vance wrote in response to a post from Bill Kristol, editor-at-large of The Bulwark, asking whether Vance was “fine with this disrespect and mocking of the Holy Father.”
But Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, wrote on X in an apparent reference to the controversy, “Just when you thought it was safe to go back to checking your timeline once in a while.”
‘Read a Good Book, Folks’
“Read a good book, folks, go visit an elderly relative, anything to keep the algorithms from eating your soul,” he said.
Schmuhl added the post was “more sacrilegious — and ridiculous — than his marketing of the so-called ‘Trump Bible.’”
Asked about Trump’s post, Robert P. George, McCormick professor of jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, also mentioned Trump’s effort to sell branded Bibles, telling OSV News he is “first and foremost and above all a businessman,” and has “found an angle to try to sell more Trump Bibles.“
Trump attended the funeral of the late Pope Francis on April 26.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
