President Donald Trump pleaded ignorance to an apparent AI-generated image depicting him as the pope that was posted to his and the White House’s social media accounts, accusing the media of fabricating the backlash over the image.
“You mean they can’t take a joke? You don’t mean the Catholics, you mean the fake news media,” Trump told reporters Monday about the image, which shows him in papal clothing. “No, the Catholics loved it.”
He added: “I had nothing to do with it. Somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the pope and they put it out on the internet. That’s not me that did it. I have no idea where it came from. Maybe it was AI. But I know nothing about it.”
Trump’s Truth Social account and the White House’s X account both posted the image Friday night, sparking near-instant criticism from Catholics at home and abroad who said it was offensive.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” the New York State Catholic Conference wrote in a post on X the next morning. “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.”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, told reporters Sunday that the image was in poor taste. “I hope he didn’t have anything to do with it,” Dolan said about Trump. “It wasn’t good.
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also weighed in. In a post on X, Renzi wrote in Italian that the image “offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown.”
Trump also suggested Monday that he first saw the image “last evening.”
“I think it’s the fake news media that — you know, they’re fakers,” he added.
The purported AI image would not have been the first time Trump has suggested he should be pope. Earlier last week, when asked about the papal conclave, Trump said he was his own “number one choice” for the head of the Catholic Church.
As my colleague Steve Benen has pointed out, Trump has tried to evade responsibility for a litany of problems during his second term. From national domestic issues — such as his immigration policy and the Signal group chat debacle — to smaller-scale controversies like the pope image, when faced with any degree of pushback, you can expect Trump to pass the buck.