Religious conservatives are among President Donald Trump’s strongest supporters, but some are speaking out against his latest Jesus meme.
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Religious conservatives are among President Donald Trump’s strongest supporters, but some have spoken out against an AI-generated image he posted online that depicts him as a figure widely likened to Jesus.
Some say the image is blasphemous. That’s blasphemous. And it’s not politically wise either. Amid the backlash, the image was removed from President Trump’s social media feed in what appeared to be an unusual concession to his critics.
“This is a gross blasphemy,” Bryn Holyhand, former chair of the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council and a self-described “full-time Christian,” said of the image in a social media post. “Faith is not a prop. There is no need to paint yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself.”
The president posted the image on his Truth Social account on April 12. It showed President Trump wearing a white robe and placing his hand on the forehead of a man who appeared to be in a hospital bed. A light shines in Trump’s other hand, and a light shines around the sick man’s head. An American flag flies in the background as a bald eagle flies nearby.
Shortly before posting the image, President Trump posted a long message on social media criticizing Pope Leo, calling him “weak on crime and weak on nuclear weapons.” Roughly one in five Americans identify as Catholic, and a clash between President Trump and America’s first pope could have political ramifications.
But the image President Trump posted of himself sparked a particularly strong backlash online. Trump defended sharing it and countered that he was trying to compare himself to Jesus.
“I actually posted it, but I thought it was me as a doctor,” the president told reporters at a White House event on April 13. “I just heard about it and I said, ‘How did you come up with that?'” he added. It’s supposed to be me as a doctor who makes people better, and I actually make people better. I make people better. ”
However, some on the right found the image offensive.
Riley Gaines, a former college swimmer and conservative activist who has campaigned against transgender women competing in women’s sports, said in a social media post that she doesn’t understand why Trump would post the image.
“A little humility would do him good,” said Gaines, who attended a White House event last year where President Trump signed an executive order on transgender sports participation, adding, “God is not to be mocked.”
CatholicVote.org, a conservative Catholic group co-founded by President Trump’s nuncio to the Holy See, Brian Birch, condemned the image as “blasphemous” and shared criticism of his comments about the pope.
A Pew Research Center poll earlier this year found that 69% of white evangelical Protestants approve of President Trump’s job performance. Evangelicals are some of his strongest supporters and a key part of his political coalition. But images like Jesus struck a nerve with many religious conservatives.
Megan Basham, a reporter for the conservative Daily Wire and a self-proclaimed “unashamed churchwoman” who has written a book criticizing the “left-wing policies” of some evangelical leaders, called the image “an outrageous blasphemy.”
“He needs to take this down immediately and ask forgiveness from the American people and from God,” Basham said on social media.
Justin Amash, an Orthodox Christian and former Republican lawmaker, called the image “blasphemous” in a social media post.
And Michael Knowles, a conservative Catholic and podcaster for the Daily Wire, suggested the image could hurt President Trump politically.
“As I believe someone has already told him, it is the president’s duty, both spiritually and politically, to delete the photo, regardless of his intentions,” Knowles wrote on social media.
