WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — President Donald Trump sparked a firestorm ahead of the Catholic Church’s critical meeting to select a new pope. He shared an AI-generated image depicting himself as the pontiff, mere days after joking about wanting to be pope.
The image, posted on Trump’s Truth Social account late Friday and later shared by the White House on its official X page, shows a stern-faced Trump seated in papal white robes and headdress, finger raised in a solemn gesture. This came just a week after he attended the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away at 88 last month.
The provocative post ignited swift backlash. Even some Republicans voiced outrage — a self-described group of “pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism” denounced the image as “a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith.”
At the Vatican, spokesman Matteo Bruni declined comment when reporters asked about the photo during a briefing on the upcoming conclave set to begin May 7.
From Italy, former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi slammed the image on X: “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions, and shows the leader of the global right enjoys playing the clown. Meanwhile, the American economy risks recession and the dollar loses value.”
Closer to home, New York’s Catholic bishops also voiced their displeasure on X. “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” they said. “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.”
Just days earlier, Trump had joked he would pick himself as the first choice to be pope but praised New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan as “a very good” candidate. Dolan is, however, not on the short list for the papacy, which does include another American, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey. Notably, no American has ever been pope.
This is not Trump’s first AI-generated royal portrayal. In February, he posted another image showing himself crowned, declaring “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
At Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, supporter Debbie Macchia, 60, waited as the motorcade rolled in. “He was clearly joking. Clearly joking,” Macchia said. “But I wouldn’t want to see them do anything sacrilegious with the pope, or anything.”
What began as a humorous stunt has now stirred deep emotions and controversy, highlighting the delicate intersection of politics, faith, and respect in today’s charged world. The eyes of the Catholic faithful, and the world, are now fixed on the Vatican’s solemn conclave—for a different kind of leadership to rise.