Trump deletes AI image of him as Jesus, says meant to be doctor

President Donald Trump on Monday morning deleted a Truth Social post with an image showing himself appearing like Jesus Christ after it was met with backlash.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” Trump told reporters at the White House, denying claims he was meant to appear as Jesus.

“Only the ‘fake news’ could come up with that one,” Trump added.

“It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better,” he said. “And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”

Trump on Sunday night posted the image, which appears to have been generated with artificial intelligence, after he lambasted Pope Leo XIV for criticizing U.S. military actions against Iran and Venezuela.

The image depicted Trump, wearing a white robe, laying his right hand on a man who appeared sick or dying, with a bright light emanating from the president’s left hand and the American flag, eagles and military planes flying behind him.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC when asked for comment about the post being deleted.

“I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” wrote Megan Basham, a conservative Christian commentator, in a post about the image on X.

“But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God,” Basham wrote.

The post was one of several in a series posted to Trump’s Truth Social account Sunday night. The image stood alone without any accompanying words.

Former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had been an ally of Trump, in her own post on X wrote, “On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus.

“This comes after last week’s post of his evil tirade on Easter and then threatening to kill an entire civilization. I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!” Greene wrote.

Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Fox News on Monday, said, “I think the President was posting a joke and of course he took it down, because he recognized a lot of people weren’t understanding his humor in that case.”

Vance added that he believes Trump “likes to mix it up on social media.”

“And I actually think that’s one of the good things about this president, is that he’s not filtered,” Vance said. “He doesn’t send everything through a communications professional. He actually reaches out directly to the people.”

In May 2025, Trump posted an image showing himself as a Catholic pope after Pope Francis died.

The president was blasted by the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops, for that post.

“There is nothing clever or funny about this image,” the conference said in a post on X. “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.”