New York’s Catholic leaders have denounced President Donald Trump for his artificial intelligence-generated image of himself as the pope, reflecting public outcry about the insensitivity of sharing such a photo in the wake of Pope Francis‘ death.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” the official NYS Catholic Conference, which represents the public policy voice of the state’s bishops, wrote 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.”
The image depicts Trump — who is not Catholic — seated on an gilded chair, dressed in white papal vestments and headdress, with one finger raised, in a gesture that evokes Christ and other religious figures’ hand symbols in Christian iconography. Saturday Night Live‘s Colin Jost addressed the image’s gesture, joking that it looked as if Trump was “apparently ordering a one-way ticket to hell.”
“Who posts a photo of a themselves dressed like a guy who died a week ago? Trump was at the Pope’s funeral. That means he walked past an open casket and was like, ‘Oh, we should do a Who Wore It Best?’” Jost said, adding that if Trump “really wants” to be the pope, he should stay away from Vice President JD Vance, who late night hosts have joked caused Pope Francis’ death.
The GOP leader posted the falsified image on his Truth Social platform Friday, with the official White House X account reposting it later. It came days after he and countless other national leaders and political figures attended the funeral of the supreme pontiff April 26, for which he was additionally lambasted for opting to don a blue suit instead of a black one. The post also follows Trump telling reporters outside the White House in jest earlier this week that he would like to succeed Pope Francis, saying, “I’d like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice.”
As the AI-generated image spread, it was condemned widely by social media users both religious and secular, with one popular post, which garnered over 175,000 likes, censuring it as “actual antichrist sh–.” The word “antichrist” trended on X in the aftermath.
Currently, the world’s cardinals are preparing for the papal conclave this Wednesday, hosting general congregations ahead of the Vatican event that will see the Sistine Chapel’s ceremonial chimney eventually release white smoke in celebration of the election of the 267th pope. In total, 133 cardinals will be voting during what is expected to be a short conclave, with 108 of them appointed by Pope Francis. Ten are from the United States.
In anticipation of the rarified event, streaming of thematically representative projects — like the Oscar-winning Conclave and three-time Academy Award-nominated The Two Popes — have skyrocketed.
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