World Views on Trump’s Papal AI Image That’s Going Viral
A digitally altered image showing President Donald Trump dressed as the pope has sparked calls for a presidential apology from American Catholic leadership. The AI-generated image, posted on Trump’s Truth Social account and later shared by the official White House X profile, has drawn particular criticism for its timing during the Vatican’s official mourning period for Pope Francis.
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois delivered one of the strongest rebukes, condemning the image as “deeply offensive” and declaring that “Trump mocks God, the Catholic Church, and the Papacy.” The bishop explicitly stated that “President Trump owes an apology to Catholics and all people of good will,” according to religious affairs reporting from across the country.
Image Posted During Vatican Mourning Period
The controversial AI rendering appeared on Trump’s social media Friday night, showing the president seated in papal attire, complete with the distinctive white cassock and headdress. The timing has particularly offended many Catholics, as the church continues its traditional nine-day mourning period following Pope Francis’s death on April 21.
The post came less than a week after Trump attended Pope Francis’s funeral at St. Peter’s Square, where he joined other world leaders to pay respects to the late pontiff. According to the Associated Press, the image appeared just days before Catholic cardinals are scheduled to begin the conclave to elect Francis’s successor on May 7.
The New York State Catholic Conference issued a direct statement to Trump, saying: “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. 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. Do not mock us.”
Cardinal Dolan Expresses Disappointment
Even Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who has maintained generally cordial relations with Trump, expressed disapproval when questioned about the image on Sunday. “It wasn’t good,” Cardinal Dolan told reporters, adding that he hoped Trump “didn’t have anything to do with” the post, according to Reuters.
The controversy is particularly notable given that Trump had previously suggested Dolan as a potential papal candidate. When asked last week who he might like to see as the next pope, Trump first joked about his own candidacy before naming “a very good” candidate in New York, apparently referring to Cardinal Dolan.
“I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice,” Trump said, according to reporting from TIME, before clarifying he was joking and pointing to Dolan as a serious option. However, Vatican observers note that Dolan is not considered among the frontrunners for the papal position.
White House Defends Religious Record
The White House has not deleted the image or issued a formal apology, instead emphasizing Trump’s broader relationship with religious communities. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to criticism by stating: “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.”
Vice President JD Vance, himself a Catholic convert since 2019, appeared to downplay the controversy on social media. “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 wrote on Saturday, according to NPR.
Trump supporters have defended the post as harmless humor rather than intentional disrespect. Jack Posobiec, a conservative influencer and Trump ally who recently participated in a Catholic prayer event at Trump’s Florida resort, wrote: “I’m Catholic. We’ve all been making jokes about the upcoming Pope selection all week. It’s called a sense of humor.”
International Media Notes Controversy
The image has generated coverage in international news outlets, particularly in Italy where the Vatican is located. Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica characterized the post as “infantile” and accused Trump of “pathological megalomania,” according to CNN.
American tourists visiting St. Peter’s Square offered reactions ranging from “absurd” to “typical” when questioned by journalists, though none wanted to be identified by name. Meanwhile, the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, generally an international ally of Trump, declined to comment on the controversy.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni also refused to address the matter during a briefing with journalists about the upcoming conclave process, maintaining diplomatic distance from the political controversy during a significant religious transition.
Pattern of AI Imagery in Official Communications
This is not the first time Trump has utilized AI-generated imagery in his political messaging. In February, both his personal account and official White House social media channels posted an AI-rendered image depicting the president wearing a crown, celebrating his intervention against congestion pricing policies in New York City.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,” read the caption accompanying that image, according to Reuters. The increasing use of artificially generated images in official presidential communications has raised questions about authenticity and appropriate boundaries in political messaging.
Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele was among the critics of the papal image, describing it as affirmation of “how unserious and incapable” Trump is as president. Conservative commentator Bill Kristol directly challenged Vice President Vance about the matter, questioning whether he was comfortable with “this disrespect and mocking of the Catholic faith.”
