Christian leaders and influencers have voiced their disapproval after President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image on social media depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure, with some supporters of the current administration condemning the post as blasphemous.
On Sunday, Trump shared an image on Truth Social showing him wearing a white robe with a red shawl, placing his right hand on the forehead of a man lying in a hospital bed. The image also included a nurse and a woman praying.
The background featured an American flag, the Statue of Liberty and other classic American symbols, along with several figures in the clouds above him, including a winged, three-horned figure descending from the heavens.
Trump later deleted the post, telling reporters during a White House briefing Monday that he posted the image himself because he “thought it was me as a doctor.”
“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with the Red Cross,” the president said. “There was a Red Cross worker there, which we support.”
However, many thought the post depicted Trump as a Christ-like figure.
1. Matt Fradd
In a Monday Instagram post, Catholic author and speaker Matt Fradd, host of the “Pints With Aquinas” podcast, urged Catholics to “offer a rosary today for Donald Trump and all blasphemers."
Fradd expanded on the issue in an op-ed published Monday at The Daily Wire, reflecting on recent exchanges between the president and Pope Leo XIV over disagreements about the war in Iran.
Trump described the pontiff in a Sunday Truth Social post as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” following the Holy Father’s appeals for an end to the conflict.
After that post, Trump shared and later deleted the controversial AI-generated image of himself. In his op-ed, Fradd said criticizing the pope “falls within the bounds of political and public discourse,” but depicting oneself as Jesus crosses into blasphemy. He reiterated his call for Catholics to pray for Trump and others he described as blasphemers.
2. Michael Knowles
Michael Knowles, host of The Daily Wire podcast “The Michael Knowles Show,” reacted during a Monday episode, describing the post as an “art meme” that was intended to be “kinda trolly.”
Knowles suggested the president shared the image to signal that he is “healing” the country and is “great” for it and noted that Trump may believe he has been supportive of Christians by pardoning pro-life activists convicted under the FACE Act and appointing U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“But the post is sacrilegious. It just is. It’s just inescapable. It’s just a sacrilegious post,” Knowles said. “To put oneself in the position of Christ is just sacrilegious.”
While he said he does not believe Trump intended to be sacrilegious, Knowles added that it would benefit the president “spiritually and politically” to remove it.
3. Doug Wilson
Pastor Doug Wilson, a Reformed theologian linked to several political figures, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, said in a Monday statement to The Washington Examiner that even if Trump’s explanation is accurate, the post amounted to “accidental blasphemy.”
“I am glad he deleted it, and glad that he rejected the idea of portraying himself as Christ,” he told The Washington Examiner. “But this was not manufactured by the press — it hit pretty much everybody the same way, Left, Right, and in the middle.”
“It was a robe around his neck, not a stethoscope, and the cosmic figures in the sky were something else, and the woman with praying hands,” Wilson added. “Even with his explanation accepted, it was accidental blasphemy, not high blasphemy. He has to do better either way.”
4. Riley Gaines
In a Monday X post, Riley Gaines, a conservative advocate for women’s sports and a 12-time NCAA All-American women's swimmer, criticized the image.
“Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he'd post this,” Gaines wrote. “Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?”
Referring to Trump, she added that “a little humility would serve him well,” adding, “God shall not be mocked.”
5. Allie Beth Stuckey
Allie Beth Stuckey, host of the “Relatable” podcast, said in a Monday X post that the image reflects “what happens when Paula White is your personal pastor and people around you are continually comparing you to Christ.”
“Trump desperately needs to understand the bad news that precedes the Good News: you are a helpless sinner in desperate need of a Savior, as we all once were,” she added.
Paula White-Cain, a Florida televangelist, serves in the White House Faith Office and has long been a spiritual adviser to Trump.
During a private Easter lunch at the White House on April 1, White-Cain compared Trump to Jesus, saying: “Mr. President … you were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It’s a familiar pattern that our lord and savior showed us.”
The comment drew backlash on social media, including from Christian leaders who viewed it as a sacrilegious comparison.
