US President Donald Trump has addressed the controversy surrounding an AI-generated image of him dressed as the Pope, which was shared on his Truth Social account last Friday and later reposted by the White House on X.
The image drew criticism from the Catholic Conference of New York State, which condemned the post, calling it disrespectful.
“There is nothing clever or funny about it,” the group stated. “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.”
In response, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump, highlighting that the President had visited Italy to honor the late Pope Francis and has long been a supporter of Catholics and religious liberty.
On Monday, during a press event in the Oval Office, Trump was asked about the backlash from Catholic leaders and Christian groups. He dismissed the criticism, attributing it to media distortion.
“You don’t mean the Catholics — you mean the fake news media. The Catholics loved it,” Trump said. “I had nothing to do with it. Somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the Pope and 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.”
He added that he first saw the image on Sunday evening. “My wife thought it was cute,” Trump said.
The President even joked about the idea of becoming Pope, saying, “To the best of my knowledge, Popes aren’t big on getting married. Are they? Not that we know of.”
Trump also rejected claims that the AI-generated image harms the White House’s social media presence, stating, “Give me a break — somebody did it in fun. It’s fun.”
