Trump Faces Backlash After Posting Image of Himself That Looks Like Jesus

What is that strange horned creature over his shoulder?

Apr 13, 2026

This article originally appeared on the Daily Caller News Foundation and was republished with permission.

President Donald Trump late Sunday uploaded an apparent depiction of himself as Jesus Christ healing a sick patient, hours after sharply criticizing Pope Leo XIV.

The image was uploaded to the President’s account with no additional captions, showing him dressed in a white and red robe while touching the head of a bedridden man. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the image was generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸@FmrRepMTG

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. This comes after last week’s post of his evil tirade on Easter and then threatening to kill an

2:43 AM · Apr 13, 2026 · 1.87M Views

3.32K Replies · 5.25K Reposts · 35.1K Likes

Riley Gaines@Riley_Gaines_

Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he'd post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked

Remarks @remarks

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 President Trump posts image portraying himself as Jesus Christ.

10:06 AM · Apr 13, 2026 · 2.36M Views

5.99K Replies · 1.4K Reposts · 20.8K Likes

Sonny Bunch@SonnyBunch

Sure but the thing about Donald Trump is that he’s a completely irreligious person and, as a result, doesn’t actually care about the image of himself as Jesus with demons over his shoulder.

Michael Knowles @michaeljknowles

I assume someone has already told him, but it behooves the President both spiritually and politically to delete the picture, no matter the intent.

4:42 AM · Apr 13, 2026 · 36.1K Views

18 Replies · 36 Reposts · 269 Likes

Daniel Torok, the White House chief photographer, claimed on X that the image was not meant to be of Trump posing like Jesus. The photographer stated there were no “halos, no thorns, no nail marks, no angels … no long curly hair.”

“What exactly is triggering to folks here? A red robe? The president isn’t even posed like Jesus in the Catholic imagery,” Torok said in part on X.

The image came shortly after Trump slammed the pope for his “weak” leadership on issues including crime and foreign policy.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart,” Trump wrote Sunday night.

The president also said that he didn’t “want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States,” and that the pope should be “thankful” to have been elected to the papacy. Trump also lambasted the pope for meeting with David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Barack Obama.

Pope Leo XIV remarked early Monday that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration or any retaliation against the church.

"I Have No Fear": Pope Leo Responds to Trump's Biggest Attack Yet

Apr 13

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“I will not enter into debate. The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’” Leo told reporters on a plane heading to Algeria. “I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel and inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, and looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible.”

The Vatican also issued a rare public rebuke on Friday after a report surfaced suggesting officials from the Trump administration had a “hostile meeting” with a Catholic Church representative. Both sides confirmed a meeting had taken place, but said that it was “substantive, respectful, and professional.”