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‘He Wants to Be Pope and King’: Religous Leaders Outraged After Donald Trump Posts AI Pic of Himself as Pope, Pastor Jamal Bryant Demands It be ‘Removed at Once’

By | Published on May 4, 2025
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Days after attending Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome, President Donald Trump sparked controversy by posting an AI-generated image depicting himself as the pope on his Truth Social account.

The White House then reposted the image on its official X platform, igniting outrage across social media and religious communities.

Pastor Jamal Bryant blasted President Donald Trump for his team creating an AI image of him as the pope and religious leaders who have not checked him for the image being published. (Photo of Pres. Donald Trump by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/ Photo of Rev. Jamal Bryant by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

The digitally altered image shows Trump seated in an ornate chair, dressed in full papal vestments and headdress, with his right forefinger raised. The timing of this post is particularly controversial as it comes just ahead of the May 7 conclave, where cardinals will gather to elect a new leader for the 1.4-billion-strong Catholic Church.

“This is disrespectful and dishonorable,” Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest, wrote on Threads. “I challenge evangelical leaders to have it removed at once and completely out of order. Now he wants to be king and pope?”

View on Threads

The provocative image appeared online just days after Trump joked to reporters outside the White House that he’d “like to be pope,” adding that would be his “No. 1 choice.” He later clarified that he has “no preference” over who is ultimately selected to lead the Catholic Church.

This papal portrayal isn’t the first time Trump or his administration has shared controversial AI-generated imagery.

In February, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich posted an image of Trump depicted as a king after the administration moved to eliminate New York City’s congestion pricing program.

Trump himself embraced the royal imagery in a Truth Social post, writing, “Manhattan and all of New York, is saved. Long live the king.”

The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops, condemned the papal portrayal, stating, “There is nothing clever or funny about this image. 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.”

The image has drawn considerable criticism from both religious leaders and political figures.

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, an outspoken Trump critic, said the post “affirms how unserious and incapable [Trump] is.”

Social media reactions on Bryant’s post have been swift and largely negative.

“So disrespectful,” wrote one person in response to the image.

Another commented, “Your White House doesn’t take their jobs seriously, time to defund trump’s White House, they’re wasting taxpayers funds.”

One particularly emotional response read, “This is so pathetic. Please Pray for me, I have never felt like I do about a person when it comes to this individual. I PRAY THAT GOD FORGIVE MY THOUGHTS.”

Another user pointedly asked, “Where are the outraged Christians?? Oh…. They don’t really gaf.”

X user called for accountability, posting, “Donald Trump insulted the papacy by posing as the Pope days after his holiness pass away. Trump should apologize. Please ask him to do so and report his response.”

The Vatican has remained measured in its response. When asked about the image during a briefing with journalists about the process of electing a new pope, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to comment, according to Reuters.

Trump, who is not Catholic and does not regularly attend church services, had just returned from Rome, where he attended Pope Francis’ funeral.

During that trip, he also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to the Vatican, Pope Francis died of a stroke that ultimately led to irreversible heart failure.

Catholic convert Vice President JD Vance went to Italy and met the pontiff one day before his death.

Some Trump supporters have defended the image as harmless humor.

In West Palm Beach, supporter Debbie Macchia, 60, told reporters, according to CBS News, as Trump’s motorcade arrived at his golf club, “He was clearly joking. Clearly joking. But I wouldn’t want to see them do anything sacrilegious with the pope, or anything.”

The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between religious communities and political leadership, raising questions about the boundaries of humor, respect for religious institutions, and the appropriate use of artificial intelligence in political communication.

As the Catholic Church prepares for this significant transition in leadership, many religious observers and political commentators continue to express concern about what they perceive as disrespect toward sacred traditions during a period of mourning and transition for Catholics worldwide.

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