Amid growing criticism even among his supporters, President Donald Trump deleted an AI-generated image he posted on Truth Social appearing to depict him as Jesus – but he stopped short of apologizing for the meme.
The Controversial Image
The image, which the president first posted late Sunday and deleted Monday morning, featured a rendering of Trump draped in a white and red robe and standing in a Christ-like pose while placing a hand over a sick man lying in a hospital bed. In the foreground, a woman observed the healing scene with her hands steepled in prayer; in the background, the American flag, Statue of Liberty, and bald eagles were interspersed with demonic-looking figures.
The religious undertones of the meme were not well received by many on social media, where it was called “blasphemous” by some. Supporters of the president called for him to take it down – regardless of the original intent – which he did at some point Monday morning.
When asked by a reporter about the controversy during an event in the Oval Office, Trump said he had thought the image portrayed him as a doctor, not Jesus. “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with the Red Cross,” he said. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better.”
Trump vs. Pope Leo XIV
He accused the “fake news media” of concocting the controversy, but the timing of the post was noteworthy. It came shortly after the president slammed Pope Leo XIV in a 334-word message on Truth Social over his condemnation of the war in Iran.
In the Sunday missive, Trump called the first American-born pontiff “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy.” He also suggested Leo would not be pope had he not won the 2024 election.
“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History,” the president wrote. “Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
President Trump reiterated his criticism while speaking to the press at Joint Base Andrews last night. While it is not entirely clear what spurred his wrath, it appears the president was made aware of a 60 Minutes report that aired Sunday evening on the Catholic Church’s opposition to the Iran war.
Megyn’s Take
On Monday’s show, Megyn reacted to the controversy and explained why she, as a Catholic, did not appreciate Trump’s post. Below are her remarks, edited for length and clarity:
“President Trump has picked up a new feud with Pope Leo XIV… I will be the first to tell you, the pope has been critical of this war… And as he has been critical of it, it occurred to me that it was just a matter of time before President Trump would lash out at him and he did. It wasn’t great, but it was predictable. No Catholic loves this, but you could see it coming.
It is hard to say that Trump is completely out of line because whenever he gets attacked – whether it’s by a journalist or a talking head or a pope – he punches back. You could definitely question the wisdom of doing this… President Trump leads a nation of 330 million people; Pope Leo leads about 1.4 billion Catholics across the world. But President Trump doesn’t care… and he wouldn’t even care if the majority of Americans were Catholic, which they are not… This is what he does. If he perceives you as coming at him, he will come at you. So he lashed out last night at the pontiff…
And that leads me to President Trump’s obvious misstep… It wasn’t a clap back at Pope Leo. I mean, I have been through this before. I was a Catholic back when he was attacking Pope Francis during his first run for office, and now it’s Pope Leo. You just knew it was coming… But what we didn’t know was coming was this absolutely absurd, offensive… AI-generated version of a picture showing Donald Trump as Jesus… It is obviously him purporting to be God… and it is blasphemous by any definition of that word…
It was completely inappropriate, and he knows it. I don’t know why the president is getting so desperate for attention that he feels the need to mock 1.4 billion Catholics. It’s enough, okay? It’s enough of this nonsense. I know you love getting a rise out of people. I know you’re really enjoying being subversive. You upset all the right people. I get it. But… this is completely wrong…
He must have been feeling some sort of blowback because it is literally just breaking now that the president deleted the meme… Somebody got to him and said, ‘Take it down. You’ve offended 1.4 billion Catholics who have done nothing to you.’ In fact, many of us have done nothing but support you when you get attacked over and over and over. And we would appreciate not being mocked for our religious beliefs, something you seem to be increasingly fond of doing across most, but not all, religions…
I don’t know why he is doing this, other than he is acting like a cornered animal. When you feel like you are cornered and things are out of control, you lash out. You lash out at your most ardent supporters and treat them like they are the enemy. You lash out at a bunch of Catholics on and immediately after Easter… And you continue to ratchet up the rhetoric, like saying you are going to do something like bomb Iran’s desalinization plants… as though that would be an acceptable means of upping the ante if he doesn’t get what he wants. It’s not okay…
He doesn’t like being attacked by Pope Leo. I get that. But the answer is not to blaspheme an entire faith… or double down on your attacks against Christians.”
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 1,294 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.