On April 12, 2026, just 11 days after April Fools Day, the President of the United States of America posted an AI photo of himself depicting him ‘healing’ a man while dressed in garments in resemblance to Jesus Christ. The photo sparked a lot of controversy as President Trump is a powerful figure in American and global politics, and a lot of his voting base belongs to the Christian church and its respective denominations. Imitating the Lord in a photo like the one posted could be interpreted as blasphemous. While a lot jumped to defend, a lot jumped away.

Prior to Trump’s posting of this photo, he was being criticized for his military choices on the offensive in the conflicts with Iran. Pope Leo XIV has made it clear that he is not afraid of the Trump administration and even made a statement quoted in Reuters that “(Jesus) does not listen to the prayers of those who ​wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood,'” quoting the book of Isaiah. While the Pope widely disagrees with the Iranian war, Trump has tried to justify it to these religious followers explaining in a post that “for Iran to have a nuclear bomb is absolutely unacceptable.” While nuclear warfare is a concern, the Church works to promote peace, and not turn to violence as a first resort to deal with these issues.

Pete Hegseth was a member of the administration that jumped to Trump’s aid, though. As the Secretary of War, Hegseth is a high ranking member of Trump’s Cabinet. He stated in a press conference recorded in an article by The New Republic that the reporters there were the Pharisees out to get Trump and take him down. Hegseth shared: “I sat there in church, and I thought, ‘These press are just like these Pharisees.’ Not all of you, but the legacy, Trump-hating press.” For those unfamiliar with what a Pharisee is, they are a Jewish religious sect known widely in the Bible as hypocritical figures that doubted Jesus.

According to an article by USA Today, Trump claimed to reporters the day after the post that it also was not supposed to be him as Jesus. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better. I make people a lot better.” Despite his attempts at claiming he was not trying to look like Jesus, the similarity was too great to ignore for the majority of people. The President later took the post down, but it is still on social media. Trump’s posting of AI videos and photos is constantly receiving backlash.