Egypt Daily News – US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed in the attire of the Pope of the Vatican, amid the ongoing mourning period for Pope Francis and just days before the conclave is set to choose his successor. This move sparked criticism from a group representing Catholic bishops in New York and from Italians.
The image, which was posted Friday night on Trump’s platform “Truth Social” and later reposted by the White House on its official account on the platform X (formerly Twitter), caused widespread surprise on social media and at the Vatican, which is still in its official nine-day mourning period following Pope Francis’s death on April 21. Catholic cardinals have been holding daily Masses in his memory, and are scheduled to begin meetings next Wednesday to elect his successor.
The death of a Pope and the election of a new one is a deeply reverent matter for Catholics, who consider the Pope the “Vicar of Christ on Earth.” This holds especially true in Italy, where the papacy is highly respected even among non-religious Italians.
The image of Trump wearing white robes and a pointed crown, or bishop’s hat, became a central topic during the Vatican’s daily press briefing on Saturday. Italian and Spanish media outlets expressed regret over what they called its poor taste and described it as offensive, given that the official mourning period is still ongoing. Former left-leaning Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called the image disgraceful. He wrote on X, “This image offends the faithful, insults institutions, and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys clowning around.” Renzi added, “At the same time, the US economy faces the threat of recession, and the dollar is losing value. Sovereigntists are causing harm everywhere.”
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni declined to comment.
In the United States, the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops in governmental affairs, accused Trump of mockery. The group wrote, “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We have just buried beloved Pope Francis, and the cardinals are about to enter an official conclave to elect a new successor to Saint Peter. Don’t mock us.”
The left-leaning Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” also published the image on its front page Saturday, with a caption accusing Trump of “pathological megalomania.”
When asked to respond to the criticism, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump traveled to Italy to pay his respects to Pope Francis and attended his funeral. He has been a strong advocate for Catholics and for religious freedom.”
Jack Posobiec, a far-right influencer and a Trump ally who recently participated in a Catholic prayer event last March at Trump’s resort in Florida, defended the former president.
He wrote on X, “I’m Catholic. We’ve been joking all week about who the next Pope will be. It’s called having a sense of humor,” according to him.
This episode comes after Trump jokingly said last week that he was interested in the vacant position. The president, who has been married three times and is not Catholic, told reporters, “I’d love to be the Pope. That would be my first choice.”
Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, commented on X, saying, “I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. He’d truly be the dark horse candidate, but I urge the papal conclave and the faithful Catholics to remain open to the possibility!” He added, “Combining the roles of Pope and US President for the first time brings many positives. We await the white smoke… Trump XXVIII!”
US Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic and was one of the last foreign officials to meet with Pope Francis before his death, also joked about the idea of Secretary of State Marco Rubio becoming Pope. He suggested Rubio add the title to his long list of roles, including National Security Advisor and Acting Archivist.
In addition to putting himself forward for the role, Trump also nominated Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York.
He said, “I don’t have any preference. I’d say we have a cardinal from New York City who is very good. So we’ll see what happens.”
Dolan, 75, is one of 10 American cardinals who will vote in the papal conclave.
The reason the cardinals meet in secrecy, being isolated for the duration of their meetings, is to prevent outside secular forces from influencing their decision, as happened in past centuries.
There is an old saying about campaigning too openly to become Pope: “He who enters the conclave as Pope, leaves as a cardinal.”
While Trump attended Francis’s funeral, he and Vance have clashed with American bishops in general and with Pope Francis in particular over the administration’s hardline stance on immigration and its efforts to deport migrants en masse. Before being hospitalized in February with pneumonia, Francis issued a strong rebuke of the administration’s mass deportation plans.
