{"id":4792,"date":"2025-05-03T18:39:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T18:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunnewsusa.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/president-trump-shares-ai-generated-photo-of-him-dressed-as-pope\/"},"modified":"2025-05-03T18:39:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T18:39:59","slug":"president-trump-shares-ai-generated-photo-of-him-dressed-as-pope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunnewsusa.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/president-trump-shares-ai-generated-photo-of-him-dressed-as-pope\/","title":{"rendered":"President Trump shares AI-generated photo of him dressed as pope"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Trump shared an AI-generated photo of himself dressed as the pope just days after telling reporters that he’d “like to be pope.”<\/p>\n

The image \u2013 which Mr. Trump first posted on his social media platform\u00a0Truth Social<\/a> \u2013 was also shared by the White House’s official social media account<\/a> on Friday. It comes as cardinals<\/a><\/span> from around the world are set to gather in Vatican City to choose Pope Francis<\/a>‘ successor as the leader of the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

The image shows Mr. Trump seated in an ornate chair, dressed in white papal vestments and headdress, with a finger raised.<\/p>\n

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pic.twitter.com\/x2HrR939tn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Mr. Trump, who is not Catholic, joked to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday that he would like to succeed Francis, who died at 88 last month.<\/p>\n

“I’d like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice,” he said.<\/p>\n

The president noted that he actually had no preference, adding, “I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump was referring to Timothy Cardinal Dolan, archbishop of New York. While there has never been a pope from the U.S., Francis was the first from the Americas.<\/p>\n

Francis died of a stroke that ultimately led to irreversible heart failure, according to a death certificate issued by the Vatican.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were among the dignitaries<\/a><\/span> who attended Francis’ funeral last week<\/a><\/span>. While there, Mr. Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Days later, Ukrainian and U.S. officials signed<\/a><\/span>\u00a0a joint economic investment deal on Wednesday that includes granting the U.S. access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals.<\/p>\n

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President Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on April 26, 2025 in Vatican City.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dan Kitwood \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, according to Reuters, declined to comment on the image shared by Mr. Trump during a briefing with journalists about the process of electing a new pope, which begins on May 7.<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Some 133 cardinals will choose the next pope, with no clear frontrunner in sight.<\/p>\n

The AI-generated image sparked backlash from some on social media, while others defended it as a joke.<\/p>\n

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, an outspoken critic of the president, criticized the post and\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0it “affirms how unserious and incapable [Mr. Trump] is.”<\/p>\n

The New York State Catholic Conference accused Trump of mockery.<\/p>\n

“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. 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,” they wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Debbie Macchia, 60, a supporter of the president outside his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday morning, told Reuters he was “clearly joking.”<\/p>\n

“But I wouldn’t want to see them do anything sacrilegious with the pope, or anything,” she said.<\/p>\n

CBS News has reached out to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for comment.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time Mr. Trump or the White House has shared an AI-generated photo of the president.<\/p>\n

In mid-February, their official social media accounts posted a different AI-generated image<\/a> of Mr. Trump wearing a crown and captioned “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”<\/p>\n

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