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The Catholic Bishops of New York State have voiced their disapproval on X after Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image depicting himself dressed as the Pope.
Posting from their official X account, the bishops wrote: “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We have just laid our beloved Pope Francis to rest, and the cardinals are preparing to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor to St. Peter. Do not mock us.”
Recall that former US President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope ahead of this week’s meeting of cardinals to elect a new leader for the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church. This came just days after he jokingly expressed a desire to “like to be pope.”
Trump, who is not Catholic, posted the image on his Truth Social platform late on Friday, May 2, only days after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 last month.
The White House later shared the image on its official X account.
The photo depicted a stern-looking Trump seated in a chair, wearing white papal vestments and a headdress, with his right forefinger raised.
The post quickly sparked backlash on X, including from some Republicans who oppose Trump. This group, identifying as “pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism,” reposted the image, labeling it “a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith.”
Earlier, on Tuesday, April 29, before posting the AI-generated photo, Trump had humorously suggested he would choose himself to be pope, though he acknowledged that Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York would be “a very good” candidate.
