'Full-on Lunacy': President Donald Trump Ridiculed for Sharing 'Sacrilegious' AI Photo of Himself as the New Pope
Donald Trump shared an AI image of himself as the pope.
May 3 2025, Published 2:15 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump has shared an AI-enhanced image of himself as Pope on Truth Social late Friday night, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
This artificial portrayal has ignited a whirlwind of reactions — ranging from amusement to outrage — all across social media.
Donald Trump attended Pope Francis' funeral.
At precisely 10:29 p.m. on Friday, May 2, Trump shared the image on his own social media platform without any accompanying caption, prompting a barrage of likes and criticisms almost instantaneously.
The reactions ranged considerably, with some welcoming the audacious display, while others condemned it.
Comedian Terrence K. Williams reposted the image on X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote: "Pope Trump... Lol our President just posted this. He's trolling because he knows the media is going to flip out. Love it actually. I love the sound of King Trump, the first of his name."
Other political commentators took to social media to ridicule the AI image as being "sacrilegious" and "in poor taste".
Melanie D'Arrigo, the executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, shared Trump's post and wrote: "The guy who broke all 10 commandments is posting pictures of himself cosplaying as the next Pope."
Another X user commented: "Wait until he posts himself as Jesus on the cross with people worshiping him. Ultimate goal. If he is not the Antichrist, he is definitely a forerunner."
A third person pointed out: "MAGA will say 'he's just having fun. You need to lighten up' when their heads would be exploding if a Democrat did this."
Trump congratulated the pope, despite him joking about wanting to be the next pontiff.
In the days leading up to his provocative post, Trump was asked whom he would like to see elected as the new pope. Sarcasticly, he said, "I'd like to be pope", before humorously adding, "I don't know, I have no preference... I must say, we have a cardinal (Timothy Dolan) that happens to be out of a place called New York, who's very good. So, we'll see what happens."
Several critics ridiculed the president over his post.
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Marco Rubio, Trump's former secretary of state, joked about Trump's comments on Fox News and remarked: "You don't have to be a priest. People don't know that. Any unmarried Catholic male can be pope, but I got married and I'm happily married, so I guess I'll miss out on that one."
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham was far more enthusiastic about the idea of Trump being the next pope and tweeted: "I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next pope. This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!"
He continued: "The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke… Trump MMXXVIII!"
