SUNDAY May 4, 2025 |
By thenewsdesk.ng
United States, US, President Donald Trump has stirred controversy once again, this time by posting an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope, just days before cardinals are set to elect a new leader of the Catholic Church. The image, shared on Trump’s Truth Social platform late Friday and later reposted by the official White House account on X (formerly Twitter), comes shortly after Trump joked about wanting to be pope.
The image shows an unsmiling Trump seated in a richly adorned papal chair, wearing traditional white vestments and a headdress, with his right forefinger raised—a pose typically associated with papal authority. The post follows the funeral of Pope Francis, who died at 88 last month, and precedes the solemn conclave scheduled to begin on May 7 to elect his successor.
The provocative photo has drawn swift backlash across the political and religious spectrum. A Republican group opposed to Trump, calling itself “pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism,” reposted the image, labelling it “a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith.”
Catholic leaders also expressed their disapproval. The Catholic bishops of New York state 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. Do not mock us.”
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also weighed in, calling the image “an offence to believers” and accusing Trump of enjoying the role of a “clown” at a time when “the American economy risks recession and the dollar loses value.”
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to comment on the image when asked during a press briefing about the upcoming papal election.
Trump’s post followed remarks earlier in the week in which he joked that he would choose himself to be pope, adding that there was a “very good” candidate in New York—Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York. Although Dolan is not on the short list of likely successors, another American, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, is considered a possible contender. No American has ever been elected pope.
This is not the first time Trump has used AI imagery to make bold political statements. In mid-February, he and the White House social media accounts shared another AI-generated image of Trump wearing a crown, captioned: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
As cardinals prepare to enter the conclave, many within the Catholic community and beyond are urging greater sensitivity and respect for the deeply significant moment the Church is facing.
