Topline
President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated photo of himself as the pope Friday evening, sharing the image a few days after he jokingly suggested he would like to be the next head of the Catholic Church, which will soon vote on the late Pope Francis’ successor.
Trump posted the photo Friday night. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Trump posted the image to his Truth Social and Instagram profiles, garnering over a million likes on the photo showing him donning a headdress (known as a mitre), a golden pectoral cross and the pope’s traditional white cassock.
Trump’s posts come days after the president joked about wanting to be the next pope, saying he would be “the number one choice” for the position before saying he “has no preference” on who the next pontiff is.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., ran with Trump’s joke, calling the president a “dark horse candidate” and asking the papal conclave “to keep an open mind about this possibility!”
Trump attended Pope Francis’ funeral last weekend after the church’s leader died of a stroke following an extensive bout of respiratory issues.
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Chief Critic
Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said Trump’s AI post “affirms how unserious and incapable he is,” saying the president “remains a [10-year-old]
child, emotionally scarred and broken while desperate to prove he could be somebody.”
Surprising Fact
The photo posted by Trump marks one of multiple occasions where the president has posted AI-generated content. In February, Trump shared an AI video showing him, Tesla chief and presidential adviser Elon Musk and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu vacationing at a Trump-branded resort in the Gaza Strip, which Trump has expressed interest in taking from the roughly two million Palestinians who live in the region. The president also shared AI-generated images suggesting pop star Taylor Swift supported his presidential campaign. However, Swift later endorsed former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Key Background
Trump has made some outlandish proposals during his first 100 days in office. The president recently said he is not joking about possibly running for president a third time despite Constitutional restrictions against three terms, claiming there are “some well-known loopholes” that could get him another four years in office. Trump’s official store even started selling “Trump 2028” hats last week. However, the White House said Trump was “trolling” when it came to running for a third term. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Friday he would let Trump speak to his political future, noting the president “loves to have a good time with the American media.” Trump has also proposed making Canada the 51st state, an idea first taken as a joke that the president later confirmed was a legitimate idea. Trump has claimed Canada “would be much better off” as a U.S. state—an idea outright rejected by Canada, and a taunt that helped secure Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election victory last month.
Further Reading
Trump Confirms He’s Serious About Wanting Canada As 51st State (Forbes)
