Trump angered some ardent supporters with AI image appearing to depict him as Jesus - BERITAJA

A societal media backlash wasn't capable to person President Donald Trump to apologize aliases backmost down from his feud pinch Pope Leo.

But he did region the AI-generated image he posted of himself arsenic a Christ-like figure, aft immoderate of his about ardent Christian supporters accused him of blasphemy.

“I don’t cognize if the President thought he was being funny aliases if he is nether the power of immoderate constituent aliases what imaginable mentation he could person for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” Megan Basham, a salient blimpish Protestant Christian writer and commentator, posted connected X. “But he needs to return this down instantly and inquire for forgiveness from the American group and past from God.”

Even immoderate successful the right-wing media sphere were aghast.

“I support Trump, and I walk 8 hours a time defending him. I will not take sides blasphemy,” blimpish governmental commentator Cam Higby posted connected X, urging the president to return the station down.

The image depicted Trump successful a achromatic clothes pinch a reddish sash, pinch 1 manus connected the forehead of a bedridden man. An orb of ray floats successful the president’s different hand, on pinch an American emblem and the Statue of Liberty successful the background.

The consequence was swift.

“Why?” Riley Gaines, the erstwhile collegiate swimmer turned blimpish podcaster who has led the complaint against trans women successful sports, posted. “Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d station this. Is he looking for a response? Does he really deliberation this?”

Gaines wrote that “a small humility would service him well,” earlier concluding, “God shall not beryllium mocked.”

Trump confirmed connected Monday that he personally put up the image but insisted he thought it portrayed him arsenic a expert “making group better.”

“Only the clone news could travel up pinch that one, truthful I conscionable heard about it, and I said, ‘How did they travel up pinch that?’” Trump said. “It’s expected to beryllium maine arsenic a doctor.”

In an question and reply pinch CBS News connected Monday, Trump expanded connected why he took down the post.

“Normally I don’t for illustration doing that, but I didn’t want to person anybody beryllium confused," he said. "People were confused.”

Trump denied being swayed by the criticism, saying he "didn't perceive to Riley Gaines" and that he's "not a large fan."

The White House has not responded to questions about the post. But it vanished connected the aforesaid time that the Religious Liberty Commission, a assemblage Trump group up to ostensibly take sides belief freedom, was scheduled to meet.

The offending station appeared online soon aft Trump went aft Pope Leo, who has been captious of the warfare connected Iran.

“I’m not a large instrumentality of Pope Leo,” he wrote successful a Truth Social station that called the leader of the Roman Catholic Church “WEAK connected Crime, and unspeakable for Foreign Policy.” Leo, the first American pope, later responded he has “no fearfulness of the Trump administration.”

David Gibson, who is head of the Center connected Religion and Culture astatine Fordham University successful New York City, said Trump’s onslaught connected Pope Leo “makes zero consciousness politically.”

“American presidents, and American Catholics, person often disagreed pinch the popes, not conscionable pinch Leo,” Gibson said. “But disrespect for illustration this is different from disagreement. This is uncharted territory."

In r/catholicism, a Reddit organization dedicated to the Christian denomination, moderators created a “megathread“ to corral the chat connected the caller spat betwixt the pope and the president. The thread had much than 1,500 comments arsenic of Monday afternoon, making it 1 of the most-discussed topics successful the 18-year history of the subreddit.

In the CBS interview, Trump said he believes he has "done much for the Catholic Church than immoderate president successful the past 100 years."

Gibson said it’s not gone unnoticed that the station that profoundly offended his “key base,” evangelical Christians, is gone, “yet the blast against Pope Leo remains.”

“That is telling, and besides complicates the early spot for Trump’s would-be governmental heirs, JD Vance and Marco Rubio, some Catholics,” Gibson said.

Vance, successful particular, has often mentioned that he is the first Catholic person to service arsenic vice president, and he represented the U.S. past twelvemonth astatine Pope Leo’s inaugural mass.

But Trump besides risks alienating achromatic evangelicals, a group that continues to powerfully backmost the president but whose support has been slipping of late, recent polls show.

The Trump management has curried favour pinch evangelicals by unleashing the Department of Justice to spell aft what it deems anti-Christian discrimination. Earlier this month, Beritaja reported that the Department of Justice was putting the last touches connected a study that casts the Biden DOJ arsenic anti-Christian complete its enforcement of laws protecting abortion clinics and enforcement of Covid regulations.

Trump and his backers person often reached for belief iconography to take sides a president who claims to beryllium a non-denominational Christian but was seldom seen astatine religion until he became president and famously — and wrongly — identified his favourite biblical transition arsenic “Two Corinthians” during a 2016 quality astatine Liberty College.

Trump has claimed many times that God “spared him” aft 2 assassination attempts successful 2024.

Back successful 2019, during his first word arsenic president, Trump described himself arsenic “the chosen one” while fielding a mobility about the waste and acquisition warfare pinch China. He later said he “was kidding, being sarcastic, and conscionable having fun.”

And complete the years, supporters person compared Trump to biblical figures for illustration King David, calling him a flawed fig chosen by God to lead the country.

Trump has moreover been compared to the king of a onshore that the U.S. is presently astatine warfare pinch — Iran.

Lance Wallnau, a blimpish evangelical Christian preacher successful Dallas, said he has successful sermons called Trump the modern type of Cyrus, who ruled ancient Persia immoderate 600 years earlier Christ was born.

“Thus says the Lord to Cyrus, whom I’ve anointed,” Wallnau told his flock. “Donald Trump has an anointing upon him. The manus of God is connected him.”