A picture depicting Donald Trump as Jesus Christ has been deleted from the president’s Truth Social account after a wave of backlash from far-right Christian figures accusing him of blasphemy.

The image, which appears to be AI-generated, was posted to the president’s social media account after he labeled Pope Leo XIV “WEAK” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy in a Sunday night screed.

The image depicts the president in a white robe and red sash with a glowing outstretched hand placed on the forehead of a man in a hospital bed. Trump is seen surrounded by patriotic symbols including a waving U.S. flag, the Statue of Liberty and an eagle flying above fireworks and fighter jets.

“I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross,” Trump told reporters outside the White House in a hastily arranged press conference on Monday. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”

He blamed “fake news” for comparing the image to Jesus and refused to apologize to the pope, who “said things that are wrong,” according to Trump.

Donald Trump’s Truth Social account deleted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus on April 13. He posted the image on Sunday night after bashing Pope Leo
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Donald Trump’s Truth Social account deleted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus on April 13. He posted the image on Sunday night after bashing Pope Leo (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)
Trump’s Sunday night post was online for more than 12 hours before it was removed from his platform Monday.

“This should be deleted immediately,” wrote Sean Feucht, a Christian performer and activist who is partnering with the Trump administration for a series of worship events tied to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. “There’s no context where this is acceptable.”

Riley Gaines, who has emerged as a prominent figure in the administration’s efforts to ban transgender Americans from women’s sports and recently appeared at the White House, warned that “God shall not be mocked.”

“Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this,” she wrote. “Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?”

Right-wing commentator Brilyn Hollyhand called the post “gross blasphemy.”

“Faith is not a prop,” he wrote. “You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself.”

He added that “the same God who saved Trump’s life from that bullet sent His son Jesus to die for our sins,” referencing the attempted assassination of then-candidate Trump at a campaign rally in 2024. “He died for Trump just as much as for you and I,” Hollyhand said.

“This is blasphemous,” added Outkick’s Jon Root. “Trump portraying himself as Jesus Christ, descending from the clouds, healing the sick, with people praying to him, is reprehensible.”

Isabel Brown, a Catholic podcaster for right-wing outlet The Daily Wire, called the president’s post “disgusting and unacceptable, but also a profound misreading of the American people experiencing a true and beautiful revival of faith in Christ in the midst of our broken culture.”

Michael Knowles, another right-wing Catholic figure at The Daily Wire, said it “behooves the President both spiritually and politically to delete the picture, no matter the intent.”

Trump claims an image he posted of himself as a Jesus-like figure was showing him as a ‘doctor’