President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as pope as the mourning of Pope Francis continues and just days before the conclave to elect his successor is set to begin. Trump's action drew rebukes from a group representing Catholic bishops in New York and among Italians.
The image, shared Friday night on Trump's Truth Social site and later reposted by the White House on its official X account, raised eyebrows on social media and at the Vatican, which is still in the period of nine days of official mourning following Francis' death on April 21. Catholic cardinals have been celebrating daily Masses in his memory and are due to open the conclave to elect his successor on Wednesday.
The death of a pope and election of another is a matter of utmost solemnity for Catholics, for whom the pope is Christ’s vicar on Earth. That is all the more true in Italy, where the papacy is held in high esteem even by nonreligious Italians.
The image featuring Trump in a white cassock and pointed miter, or bishop’s hat, was the topic of several questions during the Vatican’s daily conclave briefing Saturday. Italian and Spanish news reports lamented its poor taste and said it was offensive, given that the period of official mourning is still underway.
Left-leaning former Premier Matteo Renzi said the image was shameful. “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around,” Renzi wrote on X. “Meanwhile, the U.S. economy risks recession and the dollar loses value. The sovereignists are doing damage, everywhere.”
The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, declined to comment.
In the United States, the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops of the state in working with government, accused Trump of mockery.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” they wrote. "We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”
Italy’s left-leaning La Repubblica also featured the image on its homepage Saturday with a commentary accusing Trump of "pathological megalomania.”
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the backlash to the image or why the president had shared the image.
But Jack Posobiec, a prominent far-right influencer and Trump ally who recently participated in a Catholic prayer event in March at Trump's Florida resort, defended the president.
"I’m Catholic. We’ve all been making jokes about the upcoming Pope selection all week. It’s called a sense of humor," he wrote on X.
The episode comes after Trump joked last week about his interest in the vacancy. “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice," the thrice married president, who is not Catholic, told reporters.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, piled on.
“I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!” Graham, R-S.C., wrote on X. “The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!”
Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic and was one of the last foreign officials to meet with Francis before the pope died, also joked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio becoming pope, suggesting Rubio could add it to the long list of titles he holds, including national security adviser and acting archivist.
Beyond floating himself for the job, Trump also has put in a plug for Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.
“I have no preference. I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out a place called New York who's very good. So we'll see what happens,” he said.
Dolan, 75, is one of 10 US cardinals who will be voting in the conclave, but Trump’s pitch might have cost Dolan support.
