Donald Trump posted an AI generated image of himself dressed as the Pope on social media a week after he attended Pope Francis’ funeral.
The United States president shared a post on social media that shows him dressed in a Pope’s traditional outfit and with a finger raised which has sparked considerable anger online. The picture was also shared by the official White House X account. And it comes after he was asked by a reporter at the White House who he would like to succeed Pope Francis where he quipped: “I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice.”
Although he did add: “I have no preference. 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.”
Furious comments on social media have asked for Trump to remove the image of himself as pope. “That’s so disrespectful. Not funny,” said one, while another bluntly questioned, “Trump have you lost your mind.”
There were many similar views, with one stating: “Trump is literally mocking the Christian world with this image he shared,” and a further read: “And on a day when Catholics are mourning the death of their spiritual leader, Pope Francis.”
One person wrote: “Trump, as someone outside the U.S. I find your post utterly disrespectful to the Catholic community worldwide. The papacy is a sacred institution for millions, and this mockery is an affront to their beliefs.”
But one social media user said they were not shocked stating: “Is anyone else surprised that Trump would be so brazenly sacrilegious? Me either. Classless.”
Trump told reporters on Friday as he flew to Rome last week that he was going to the funeral “out of respect” for Francis, who died aged 88. He occupied a front-row seat last Saturday in a sunlit St. Peter’s Square as more than 50 heads of state and other dignitaries attended the funeral of the Catholic Church leader who pointedly disagreed with the American on a variety of issues.
Francis was unhappy with Trump’s approach on issues including immigration, the treatment of migrants and climate change. The Argentine pontiff and the American president sparred early in their relationship over immigration. In 2016, Francis, alluding to then-candidate Trump and his campaign slogan of “build the wall,” called anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants “not Christian.” Trump said the comment was “disgraceful.”
But after Francis’ death, the Republican president praised him as a “good man” who “worked hard” and “loved the world.” Trump also described the pope as a “fantastic kind of guy.”
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