The U.S. President Donald Trump has denied allegations that he tried to portray himself as Jesus Christ in a controversial image created by artificial intelligence and shared on social media. The image, which was later removed, caused criticism as it seemed to depict Trump in a role similar to that of Christ as a healer. However, the president stated during a meeting with reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that the post had been misunderstood. Trump explained that he believed the image showed him as a doctor representing the Red Cross, an organization he supports, and not as a religious figure. He dismissed the idea that the image had any religious symbolism, emphasizing that it was meant to depict him in a medical context. The president mentioned he was unaware of the interpretation suggesting religious connotations and insisted that he only heard about it recently. Trump clarified that he sees himself as a doctor who helps people get better and expressed his belief that he makes people significantly better. These comments were made informally during a conversation with journalists while Trump was receiving a food delivery in the Oval Office. At one point, Trump asked the delivery driver, Sharon Simmons, about her opinion on gender participation in sports, to which she responded that she did not have an opinion on the matter and was solely focused on the issue of no tax on tips. Trump sought to minimize the backlash surrounding the image comparison to Jesus Christ shortly after launching a social media attack on Pope Leo XIV, criticizing him for being “soft on crime” and suggesting that the Pope should not criticize the American president. The controversy escalated on Orthodox Easter when Trump shared an image on Truth Social showing himself in Christ-like attire, apparently healing a sick man, accompanied by an illustration of angelic U.S. soldiers descending from the clouds above his head.
