US President Donald Trump posted a photo generated by artificial intelligence showing himself as a Pope before this week’s cardinal meeting to choose a new 1.4 billion Catholic church leader, and a few days later he joked that “he would like to be a Pope.”
Trump, who is not Catholic and does not go to the church regularly, published the image on his social Truth platform on Friday night, less than a week after attending Pope Francis’ funeral, who died at the age of 88 last month. The White House then republished it in its official account in X.
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The image shows a serious trump sitting in an ornate chair, dressed in white papal robes and cap, with a right index finger raised.
The irreverent post caused instant indignation in X, including among Republicans against Trump, a group that describes itself as “conservative republicans pro-democracy fighting against Trump and trumps.” The group republished the image, calling it “a flagrant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith.”
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Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni refused to comment on the image during a news conference with journalists about the process of election of a new Pope, which begins on May 7.
(Report by Andrea Shalal; Additional report by Joshua Mcelwee in the Vatican City)
