WASHINGTON — Days before cardinals are set to gather for the papal conclave to select the next head of the Catholic Church, President Donald Trump posted a seemingly AI-generated image depicting himself as pope.
The image, posted on Friday and amplified by the White House, didn’t sit well with a group of Catholics, who took to social media over the weekend to condemn the portrayal.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” said the X account for the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents bishops in the state who work on public policy initiatives.
“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 post continued. “Do not mock us.”
The image, which appears to have been generated by artificial intelligence, depicts the president in white Catholic regalia, similar to what Francis and his predecessors wore. In the picture, the president also wore a large cross necklace and sat on a chair with golden accents.
Trump posted the image to Truth Social on Friday evening, and the White House amplified the post on X shortly after.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who was named a member of the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission on Thursday, told NBC News’ Anne Thompson that the image “wasn’t good.” Dolan added in Italian that the image made a bad impression.
Dolan will be among the more than 100 cardinals who are gathering in the Vatican starting May 7 to elect a new pope.
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, a Trump critic, said in a post to X that the image posted by the president “offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown,” according to a Google Translate interpretation.
James Martin, a Jesuit priest who is editor-at-large for the Jesuit publication America Magazine, also said on X that “even though I find this deeply offensive, I will presume that Mr. Trump meant this light-heartedly.”
“But imagine the incandescent outrage, the swift condemnation, and the individual and joint protests from the US bishops if this had been done by Joe Biden or Barack Obama,” Martin added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday afternoon.
But Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, weighed in on the controversy. He responded to a post from Bill Kristol, the editor-at-large of The Bulwark and the director of Defending Democracy Together, who tagged Vance and asked whether he was “fine with this disrespect and mocking of the Holy Father.”
“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,” Vance responded.
The Associated Press also reported that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the criticism, saying, “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.”
Last week, Trump also joked that he would like to be Pope Francis’ successor.
“I’d like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice,” Trump told reporters.
Francis died April 21 of a cerebral stroke, coma and “cardiocirculatory collapse,” according to the death certificate issued by the Vatican. He was 88.
