Donald Trump has been beefing with Pope Leo XIV, partly for his general calls for peace and also his commentary on how he’s been leading the United States.
Trump initially started by calling the head of the Roman Catholic Church “weak” and “a loser.” He then posted an AI-generated image of himself that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ. After extensive pushback, he deleted the image and reemerged with an explanation.
According to Trump, he was never trying to portray Jesus Christ — the now-deleted image was simply an attempt to show appreciation to doctors, specifically Red Cross doctors. The president went on to suggest that the “misunderstanding” was caused by unfair media coverage. He said, “Only the fake news could come up with that,” before adding that he portrayed himself as a healer because, “I make people better.”
Late-night host Jon Stewart led the pushback to this new claim, dryly asking his audience (which oftentimes includes Trump), “Do you even care about lying to us anymore?” Trump’s social media presence has been the home of a bulk of the White House controversies — from portraying his predecessor Barack Obama as an ape to announcing plans to nationalize elections.
“Do you even care about lying to us anymore?”
What’s notable about this moment is that it’s been rare for Trump to feel the need to take any of his statements back. The backlash he received from religious leaders was already loud even before the AI image of Trump as a “doctor,” per his claims, circulated widely. Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron — who had previously participated in Trump’s “Religious Liberty Commission” — said, in the kindest possible terms, that the president owes the pope an apology. Bishop Barron has not yet commented on Trump’s latest AI-inspired divine healer framing.
The statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful. They don’t contribute at all to a constructive conversation. It is the Pope’s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the…
— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) April 13, 2026
Trump’s campaign was bolstered by a strong Christian evangelical base, so two scandals back-to-back — insulting the pope and then portraying himself in a Christ-like image — were not taken lightly. Eventually, Vice President JD Vance addressed the issue on Fox News. Vance claimed that Trump was only making a joke, shifting the administration away from the earlier “doctor” explanation, and said that since people weren’t getting his “humor,” the president simply deleted the post.
The Vice President then offered a word of advice to the Vatican about American politics. Vance said the Pope should stay out of the president’s public policy debates and focus on morality and the internal workings of the Catholic Church. That position stands in contrast to earlier moments during the Iran war, when the administration invoked Christianity as part of its justification for the conflict.
Vance: I certainly think that in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what going on in the Catholic Church and let the President to dictating American public policy pic.twitter.com/HcFoMpKGYT
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026
This is not the first time Trump has used Truth Social to insert himself into Catholic symbolism. His previous post featuring an AI image of himself as the pope drew similar backlash. While widely criticized among Catholics, it was not entirely surprising given his history of provocative online messaging.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of this entire exchange is the contrast it highlights: just a few months ago, Trump was practically begging for a Nobel Peace Prize — and now he’s in open conflict with Catholicism after Pope Leo XIV called for peace.
