New Delhi: US President Donald Trump Sunday shared an AI-generated photo of himself draped in ornate papal robes, just days after he joked that he would be his number one choice for the next pope.
The image—first posted on his social media platform Truth Social and later shared by the official White House account on X—shows Trump with a gold cross around his neck and wearing a tall, pointed hat, resembling a mitre, a headdress worn by Roman Catholic bishops.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American head of the Roman Catholic Church, passed away on 21 April at the age of 88.
When asked about the next pope by reporters, Trump, who attended Pope Francis’ funeral in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican city on 26 April, last week said, “As Pope? I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice.”
The post of Trump as pope quickly went viral with some social media users labelling it “disrespectful” and even referring to Trump as the “Antichrist”.
“Please take this down. I know it’s meant as a harmless joke, but many Catholics, myself included, see it as deeply disrespectful to both the past and future leaders of our Church,” one user wrote on X.
This is not funny and should be taken down immediately. God will NOT be mocked. Yes, I’m MAGA. @POTUS @realDonaldTrump
— Zek R B (@901Krissy) May 3, 2025
Trump is the Antichrist
— CB— (@NotaRINO2025) May 3, 2025
Others took a more humorous approach. “The Constitution doesn’t cover it, the Vatican doesn’t forbid it. Trump as Pope? Could happen. Stay tuned,” one user quipped.
Another dubbed him the “Holy Troll-in-Chief”, while one simply referred to him as “President Trump Pope”.
The Constitution doesn’t cover it, the Vatican doesn’t forbid it. Trump as Pope? Could happen. Stay tuned.
— Voted for this 🇺🇸 (@PatriotChris__) May 3, 2025
Holy Troll-in-Chief 🙏🏻🇺🇸
— Diligent Denizen 🇺🇸 (@DiligentDenizen) May 3, 2025
President Pope Trump
— Walter Curt (@WCdispatch_) May 3, 2025
Some users took a more creative turn with the trend. One user even used Grok to generate similar papal images, replacing Trump with figures like Elon Musk and Joseph Stalin.
— Grok (@grok) May 3, 2025
A conclave to elect the new pope is set to begin next week, with the chosen successor expected to assume leadership of the Vatican immediately.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Also Read: Pope Francis left behind a globalised church. Cardinals from Asia to Africa to choose his successor