The White House on Saturday posted an AI-generated image of US President Donald Trump shows as the leader of the Catholic Church.
Trup had jokingly said a few days earlier that he would “like to be pope”, and originally posted the image on his own social media network, Truth Social. This was later shared by the White House.
The image was posted by the US president just a few days before the conclave to elect a new pontiff is set to begin on 7 May following Pope Francis’ death on Easter Sunday.
The death of a pope and election of another is a matter of utmost solemnity for Catholics, for whom the pope is Christ’s vicar on Earth. That is all the more true in Italy, where the papacy is held in high esteem even by nonreligious Italians.
The image featuring Trump in a white cassock and pointed miter, or bishop’s hat, was the topic of several questions during the Vatican’s daily conclave briefing Saturday. Italian and Spanish news reports lamented its poor taste and said it was offensive, given that the period of official mourning is still underway.
The post caused considerable outrage online, with the official New York State Catholic Conference account saying in a post of its own that “there is nothing clever or funny about this image.”
The organisation, which represents New York state bishops, added that the US President should not “mock us”.
When asked to respond to the criticism, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that, “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.”
Trump most recently visted the Vatican last Saturday, in what was his first foreign trip during his second term, in order to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
Shortly before the funeral began, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss further steps towards ending the war with Russia, as well as a minerals pact that was later signed between the US and Ukraine.
Trump’s pick for pope
Whilst speaking to reporters last Tuesday, Trump joked that he himself would be his “number one choice”, before adding “I must say we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good.”
Trump was referring to New York Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, one of 10 US cardinals who will be voting in the conclave.
Trump’s pitch might have cost Dolan support, however, as the reason conclaes are held in secrecy, with cardinals sequestered for the duration, in order to prevent outside secular power from influencing their choice.