Trump deletes AI image of himself as Jesus - as he doubles down on Pope criticism

Donald Trump has deleted an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ as he stood by his criticism of Pope Leo.

Overnight, the US president accused Pope Leo of being "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" and claimed that "if I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican".

In a spree of late-night Truth Social posts - including Trump-branded hotels on the Moon and other X posts from supporters - Mr Trump also shared an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ without comment.

He faced criticism over the image and removed it later on Monday.

But when speaking on Monday afternoon outside the Oval Office, he argued "Pope Leo said things that are wrong" as he appeared to double down on his earlier criticism of the pontiff over his comments on ending the Iran war.

Mr Trump said: "He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran. And you cannot have a nuclear Iran."

He said Pope Leo "would not be happy with the end result", before adding: "You have hundreds of millions of people dead, and it's not going to happen."

When asked about the now-deleted post, Mr Trump suggested it had something to do with the Red Cross and insisted: "It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better."

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Responses on Truth Social were atypically critical, with some followers urging the president to take the post down.

Brilyn ⁠Hollyhand, who served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, wrote on
X: "This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don't need to portray yourself as a savior when ‌your record should speak for itself."

Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and critic of transgender athletes in women's sports, who has appeared with Mr Trump at rallies, said she could not understand why he had posted the image.

"Does he actually think this?" she wrote. "Either way, two things are true. ‌1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked."

It's not the first time that the US president has shared AI images of himself: Last year, as Mr Trump prepared to order the National Guard to deploy in Chicago, he posted an AI-generated parody image of himself from Apocalypse Now.

The US president has targeted the head of the Catholic Church after he criticised the war in Iran, saying in a speech last month that God rejected the prayers of leaders who start wars and have their "hands full of blood".

He also called the conflict in Iran "atrocious" and urged Mr Trump to find an "off-ramp" and "decrease the amount of violence".

When asked about his Truth Social comments at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday, Mr Trump told reporters: "We don't like a pope that's going to say that it's OK to have a nuclear weapon.

"We don't want a pope that says crime is OK in our cities. I don't like it. I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo."

Pope Leo has never said that it is okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

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Meanwhile, speaking to Sky's US partner NBC News, Pope Leo said "I have no fear of the Trump administration", adding that his appeals for peace were rooted in the gospel.

"We are not politicians," he said. "We don't deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the gospel, as a peacemaker."

The Pope also told Reuters aboard the papal flight to Algiers that "I don't want to get into a debate with him... I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing".

Sky News has contacted the Holy See for comment on the post and Mr Trump's remarks overnight.

(c) Sky News 2026: Trump deletes AI image of himself as Jesus - as he doubles down on Pope criticism