Britain has rejected Donald Trump’s claim that an image of him as a Jesus Christ-like figure was him portrayed as a doctor.
The US president removed the AI-generated image after launching a scathing attack on Pope Leo XIV and being hit by a backlash from some of his MAGA supporters.
Following the removal of the post, the US president said the image of him was supposed to depict him “as a doctor”.
But in London, health minister Karin Smyth, on the media round for the Government, rebuffed the claim.
“I’m not religious myself although I was brought up in a very strongly Catholic Irish community here in London,” she told Sky News.
“I know that those sort of images with the light and so on very much look like many of the images that I grew up with.
“I have not seen a doctor’s picture like that.”
Earlier, the president criticised the head of the Catholic Church on Sunday night, describing him as “weak” and “terrible”, following the pontiff’s criticism of the war in Iran.
In a late-night Truth Social blitz, which included Trump-branded hotels on the Moon, Trump shared an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure.
In the image, he could be seen healing a sick man in a hospital bed, while a nurse, a soldier from the US military, looks on in apparent adoration.
Trump’s posting of the image was met with criticism across social media platforms, including on Truth Social, the media platform Trump owns, where he is generally met by favourable responses to his posts.
Activist and former Chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, Brilyn Hollyhand, called Trump’s post “blasphemy”.
In a post on X, he wrote: "This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don't need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself."
Riley Gaines, a critic of transgender athletes in women’s sports and who has appeared at Trump rallies, also expressed her thoughts on the post.
She said: "Does he actually think this?
“Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2)God shall not be mocked."
Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe told BBC Newsnight he thought the post was “quite frankly bizarre”.
“People have often said that they think that it’s blasphemous,” he said.
“I think that implies an attack on Christianity, which President Trump I don’t think intended, but it does show a complete misunderstanding of what Christianity is about.”
The post has since been removed and Trump told reporters it “wasn’t a depiction, it was me”.
He said: “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better.”
Trump added: “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better.”
Asked about Trump’s explanation, Cardinal Radcliffe added: “I find it very strange. I’ve met many doctors in my life and none of them have glowed quite like that.”
Despite being careful with his choice of words, Pope Leo has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war in recent weeks, much to the annoyance of the US president.
Responding to the pope’s vocal opposition to the US-Israeli campaign in Iran, Trump said on Sunday that the pontiff was “WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump added.
Pope Leo has since responded to the president’s criticism, saying he will continue to speak out against the war in Iran.
He has said he is “not afraid of the Trump administration”.
Speaking aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where the US pope is starting a 10-day tour of four African countries, Pope Leo said the Christian message was being “abused”.
"I don't want to get into a debate with him," Leo said as he greeted journalists on the plane. "I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing."
"I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems," he said, speaking in English.
"Too many people are suffering in the world today," said Leo. "Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way."
"The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician," he said.
In his lengthy Truth Social post, Trump also claimed the Catholic Church’s leadership had been “arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else” in the midst of the Covid pandemic and suggested that he preferred the pope’s brother.
“I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” the president blasted. “He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
Catholics on social media quickly lambasted Trump for attacking the leader of their Church on Sunday.
"There is no ambiguity about the situation now," Massimo Faggioli, an expert on the papacy said.
He compared the comments to efforts by the leaders of Germany and Italy during World War Two to draw the late Pope Pius XII to support their causes.
"Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the pope so directly and publicly," said Faggioli.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was disheartened by Trump's comments.
"Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls,” he said in a statement.
