President Donald Trump on Monday defended his now deleted social media post that appeared to depict himself as Jesus Christ, contending that it was meant to portray him as “a doctor” after right-wing figures continued a recent trend of pushing back on the president’s recent comments.
“Well, it wasn’t a depiction. It was me, I did post it. And I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross,” Trump said during an impromptu event at the White House. “There was a Red Cross worker there, which we support. And only the fake news could come up with that one.”
In the apparently AI-generated image, Trump floats over an impaired man while wearing ancient robe-like garbs like those worn by Jesus in artistic renderings of Christianity’s most important figure. Light emanates from Trump’s hands as he places one hand on the bedridden man’s forehead, the sky lighting up behind him, while others look up at him, including one person with hands folded in prayer.
