Trump under fire for sharing AI image of himself dressed as pope: 'Utterly disrespectful to Catholics'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump caused a stir online with one of his recent social media posts, where people accused him of showing a lack of respect to Catholics.

The POTUS took to Truth Social on Friday, May 2, and posted an AI-generated image of himself in papal attire. Trump's post came days after Pope Francis' death.

Donald Trump posts his AI picture in papal attire

Donald Trump shared the AI-generated picture of himself in papal attire on Truth Social, and it has so far garnered more than 10,000 likes, and around 2,700 users have reshared the post.

Pope Francis died in April at 88 following a stroke and heart failure, according to a death certificate released last week by Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli.

Notably, the POTUS and First Lady Melania Trump attended the Pope's funeral, which was held in Rome last week. Trump caught people's attention during the funeral as he was the only global leader who did not wear black.

Trump donned a navy blue suit and a matching tie to complement his attire. Meanwhile, the first lady was in all black attire during the funeral.

Interestingly, Trump recently joked with reporters and said, "I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice."

The POTUS also mentioned who should be the next Pope. He said he has no preference for who should replace the late Francis, but added, "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."

He was reportedly talking about Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, according to Time.

Internet slams Donald Trump for sharing his AI picture in papal attire

Many internet users slammed Donald Trump as he posted an AI-generated image of himself in papal attire, days after Pope Francis' death. 

An X account called Republicans against Trump wrote, "Donald Trump just posted a photo of himself as the Pope. It's full-on lunacy at this point." 

A user wrote on X, "Please take this down. I know it's meant as a harmless joke, but many Catholics, myself included, find this as a great disrespect to the past and future leader of our church," while one added, "This is a lack of respect to the Catholic community."

A person also stated, "Do Not Like This Pic nor the suggestion of it at all!!!" whereas one mentioned, "I'm not Catholic but that's just too far for me. Love him as my president, pray for him every day, but this...nope."

A user also wrote, "Sir you are the Head of a Big powerful country. Stop this madness. This is purely low and very dumb. You comprehend other countries have access to this platform? You are putting smart people of America in a Shame. Disrespectful. 10 years old child humor," while one commented, "Dumb, and disrespectful."

A person added, "Delete it, this is blasphemous," while another commented, "Trump, as someone outside the US, I find your post utterly disrespectful to the Catholic community worldwide. The papacy is a sacred institution for millions, and this mockery is an affront to their beliefs. A leader of your stature should promote respect, not division, across borders and faiths."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.