A major rift was created in the MAGA platform after President Trump posted an AI depiction of himself as Jesus, healing a sick man. His comments about Pope Leo exacerbated tensions as both leaders criticized each other’s views.
Firstly, the President began with a post that criticised the Pope, saying that he was “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”. Pope Leo responded to this by declaring that he had no fear of “speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do”. The main conflict point was on the war in Iran, in which Pope Leo was strongly opposed, criticizing the war and urging for peace. Vice President JD Vance entered the argument as well and said that “it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality… and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.” These comments created a break in the Republican Party with those who supported the Pope on one side and those who supported the President on the other.
Shortly after the first post about the Pope on Truth Social, Trump shared the AI picture depicting himself as Jesus. It sparked immediate controversy from Christians on both sides of the political spectrum, forcing him to take it down hours later. He responded to the censure by saying, “I viewed that as a picture of me being a doctor in fixing… I do make people better”. Several of his supporters and strongly conservative figures, such as Riley Gaines and Speaker Mike Johnson, have publicly expressed disapproval. Marjorie Taylor even went as far as to say that it reflects an “Antichrist spirit”. After taking down the image of Trump as Jesus, saying that he didn’t want people to get confused, he posted another image. This one was of him and Jesus embracing in front of an American flag.
Trump’s approval rating has been hanging by a thread lately, and the alienation of some of the strongest supporters in his base, Catholics, can lead to major losses for him. The Pope’s durable favorability ratings in America, strengthened by the fact that he is the first American Pope, make losing his favor a large setback. However, a majority of Protestant Christians are said to support Trump, boosting his approval ratings. President Trump’s posting of an AI Image of him as Jesus generated criticism from across the globe; Iran put out a statement saying that “the desecration of Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person.”