President Trump is pictured on the Vatican in 2017 with Pope Francis, who died final month. Trump posted on social media Friday what seems to be an AI-generated picture of himself dressed because the pope.
Alessandra Tarantino/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
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Alessandra Tarantino/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Some Catholic leaders and not less than one U.S. Catholic group are criticizing President Trump after he posted on social media what seems to be a synthetic intelligence-generated picture of himself dressed because the pope.
Trump posted the image on his Reality Social account on Friday evening, and shortly after it was reposted by the White House on its official X account.
Trump traveled to the Vatican late final month to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, who had died a number of days earlier at age 88. The papal conclave to elect the subsequent pope is set to begin on Wednesday.
The picture exhibits Trump within the pope’s conventional white cassock, sporting a gold cross round his neck in addition to the enduring papal hat, or mitre.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York who’s pleasant with Trump, told journalists in Rome Sunday morning that he hoped Trump “did not have something to do with” the picture. When requested if it offended him, Dolan stated, “it wasn’t good.”
The New York State Catholic Convention said in a post on X: “There’s nothing intelligent or humorous about this picture, Mr. President. We simply buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a brand new successor of St. Peter. Don’t mock us.”
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois said in a Facebook post that by publishing the picture “Trump mocks God, the Catholic Church, and the Papacy.”
Paprocki added the picture was “deeply offensive” — particularly as Catholics proceed to mourn Pope Francis and put together for the papal conclave. “President Trump owes an apology to Catholics and all folks of fine will,” he stated.
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to NPR’s request for remark Sunday morning.
However the Associated Press reported that White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt has responded to the criticism, saying “President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and spiritual liberty.”
Vice President JD Vance, who transformed to Catholicism in 2019, said on social media Saturday afternoon that “[a]s a normal rule, I am wonderful with folks telling jokes and never wonderful with folks beginning silly wars that kill hundreds of my countrymen.”
Final week, when asked by reporters who he’d wish to see elected pope, Trump stated: “I would wish to be pope. That will be my primary selection,” earlier than including, “no, I do not know, I’ve no desire. I have to say now we have a cardinal that occurs to be out of a spot referred to as New York who’s excellent” — an obvious reference to Dolan.
