President Donald Trump escalated an extraordinary confrontation with Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, unleashing a furious online tirade before sharing an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ.
The post appeared on Truth Social less than an hour after Trump's outburst against the pope, whom he denounced as "weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy."
The digitally altered image shows the president in flowing robes, haloed in heavenly light and laying a hand upon a hospital patient as if performing a miracle. Around him stand a nurse, a soldier, and a kneeling woman. Surrounding symbols of American mythos, bald eagles, the Statue of Liberty and the Lincoln Memorial, reinforce a quasi-religious patriotic tableau. Fighter jets streak across a fireworks-lit sky.
The post came after the 79-year-old president's broadside against Leo, whom he accused of failing on security and foreign policy. Trump further claimed that the Catholic Church had chosen an American pope because he would be best positioned to handle Trump himself.
"Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It's hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it's hurting the Catholic Church!"
Trump doubles down after online rant
Later that night, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump intensified his criticism, arguing the pope's approach to current crises was dangerously naive.
He insisted, "We don't like a pope who's going to say it's ok to have a nuclear weapon," adding, "We don't want a pope that says crime is ok in our cities. I am not a fan of Pope Leo," and further said, "He's a very liberal person, and he's a man who doesn't believe in stopping crime."
The remarks appeared to be a direct rebuke of Leo's repeated appeals for de-escalation in the Middle East.
MAGA allies revolt over Christ-like imagery
Trump's posts drew immediate backlash from several figures typically aligned with him, with critics objecting both to the attack on the pope and the image portraying Trump as Jesus.
On X, former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote, "On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump's war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus… I completely denounce this and I'm praying against it!!!"
She added on her personal account, "It's more than blasphemy. It's an Antichrist spirit."
Right-wing influencer Milo Yiannopoulos also condemned the move, posting, "Oh hell no… Why do I feel like Paula White did this to him, and to us? Pray for his soul. Pray for us all."
60 minutes interview sets stage for clash
The online storm followed the broadcast of a 60 Minutes interview featuring three American cardinals who openly criticised Trump administration policies, including the war with Iran and immigration enforcement.
Pope Leo himself has been increasingly outspoken, urging an end to the conflict and condemning rhetoric he views as inflammatory.
During his Palm Sunday address, he told worshippers that Jesus, "does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them."
And on Saturday, in one of his sharpest interventions yet, Leo denounced the "delusion of omnipotence" driving global hostilities, warning that political leaders were justifying conflict through power and religious distortion. He declared, "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life."
"Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned," he added.
The pope's remarks coincided with US-Iran negotiations in Islamabad involving US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, mediated by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Why Trump is targeting the Pope
Tensions between Trump and Pope Leo XIV have intensified since the outbreak of the Iran war. Leo has repeatedly condemned the conflict as "unjust" and branded Trump's threats of annihilation "truly unacceptable." He has also criticised US immigration raids and the administration's mass deportations as violations of human dignity.
Relations deteriorated further when the pope declined to join Trump's proposed "Board of Peace" for Gaza and cancelled a planned July 2026 US visit for the nation's 250th anniversary, opting instead to spend the day meeting with migrants.