U.S. President Donald Trump’s Truth post in papal attire
Courtesy: The White House via X, formerly Twitter
Trump attended Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome last weekend, during which he also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
On Tuesday, days after returning from Francis’ funeral, Trump joked to reporters outside the White House that he’d “like to be pope,” adding, “that would be my number one choice.”
He followed up by saying that he has “no preference” over who is ultimately selected.
Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met with the Roman Catholic pontiff a day before his death.
Francis died of a stroke that ultimately led to irreversible heart failure, according to a death certificate issued by the Vatican.
The post of the AI-generated image sparked widespread social media response, with some users defending it as a joke and others strongly denouncing the image.
The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops, strongly condemned the post.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image,” said in a post on X.
“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 group said.
“Do not mock us.”
Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, an outspoken Trump critic, criticized the post and said it “affirms how unserious and incapable [Trump] is.”
Conservative commentator Bill Kristol, a harsh critic of Trump, asked Vance in a post on X, “Hey, @JDVance, you fine with this disrespect and mocking of the Holy Father?”
Vance fired back at Kristol in a reply on X, which referenced Kristol having been a proponent of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
“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,” wrote Vance, who served as a U.S. Marine in Iraq.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked to respond to criticism about the image, said, “President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty,” according to the Associated Press.
This is not the first time the White House shared a controversial AI-generated image of Trump.
In February, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich posted an image of Trump depicted as a king, after the administration moved to eliminate New York City’s congestion pricing program.
Trump referred to himself as the king in a Truth Social post touting that “congestion pricing is dead.”
“Manhattan and all of New York, is saved. Long live the king,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in February.
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this story.