May 5, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Trump on pope AI image: "The Catholics loved it"

Rebecca Falconer

President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, May 5, 2025. — President Trump at the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Trump on Monday pushed back against criticism of an AI-generated photo depicting him as the pope that was shared on his Truth Social account and reshared by the White House.

What they're saying: "I had nothing to do with it," Trump told reporters at the White House. "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, I just saw it last evening."

A reporter told Trump some Catholics were unhappy about the post.
"You mean they can't take a joke," Trump said. "You don't mean the Catholics, you mean the fake news media. The Catholics loved it."
He said first lady Melania Trump, who is Catholic, "thought it was cute."

Reality check: Among the leading Catholics to express offense at the Friday night AI post were the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents N.Y. bishops, a leading U.S. cardinal and a former prime minister of Italy.

Go deeper: Vance defends Trump's post depicting himself as pope amid criticism

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Trump on pope AI image: "The Catholics loved it"

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