President Donald Trump has responded to the backlash over an artificial intelligence-generated image of him dressed like the Pope.
The controversial photo was posted to Trump’s Truth Social account last Friday night and was later reposted by the White House on X.
The Catholic Conference of New York State, in a statement condemning the depiction, said there is “nothing clever or funny about” the image.
“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,” the body wrote.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the President, saying he had travelled to Italy to honour the late Pope Francis, and “has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty.”
Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday during an announcement regarding the 2027 NFL Draft, Trump described the photo as a joke.
Replying to a question on the criticisms from Catholics and other Christians, Trump blamed the “fake news media” for the negative reactions.
“You don’t mean the Catholics, you mean the fake news media. The Catholics loved it,” he stated.
“I had nothing to do with it. 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.”
The President added that he only saw the photo on Sunday evening, saying, “My wife thought it was cute.”
Trump also joked about being Pope, remarking that he would not be married if he actually held such a position.
“To the best of my knowledge, Popes aren’t big on getting married. Are they? Not that we know of.”
Trump further rejected the view that the AI image diminished the credibility of the official White House account. “Give me a break, somebody did it in fun. It’s fun,” he said.
