Donald Trump, following strong criticism of Pope Leo over his remarks about the Iran war, published an AI-generated image of himself depicting him in the likeness of Jesus Christ; while the Pope had described these statements as “weak.” Pope Leo also announced that he would not back down from his positions.
According to the CinemaDrame news agency, Donald Trump launched a sharp attack on Pope Leo on Sunday evening on the social network “Truth Social,” the first American pope to be elected to this position. He, who is a vocal opponent of the Iran war as well as the immigration policies of the U.S. president, said in his remarks: “Pope Leo is weak in dealing with crime and has performed very poorly in foreign policy… I do not want a pope who thinks Iran should be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.”
Trump further claimed: “I do not want a pope who thinks a U.S. attack on Venezuela—a country that sends vast amounts of drugs into the United States and even sends its prisoners, including murderers and traffickers, into our country—is wrong. I also do not want a pope who criticizes the President of the United States for doing exactly what I was overwhelmingly elected to do; namely, the unprecedented reduction of crime and creating the best stock market conditions in history.”
He also claimed that Pope Leo “was chosen by the Church only because he is American and they thought it was the best way to deal with Donald J. Trump. If I were not in the White House, Leo would not be in the Vatican either.”
These statements by Trump came about an hour after a segment of the program “60 Minutes” was aired about the Pope’s positions and American cardinals’ opposition to the Iran war and his immigration policies. The Pope had also last week, in response to Trump’s threat against Iran in which he said “an entire civilization will be destroyed tonight,” described these remarks as “truly unacceptable” and urged people to contact officials and political leaders to support efforts for peace and to always reject war.
Afterwards, Trump published an AI-generated image of himself in which he appeared to be wearing the robe of Jesus Christ and healing a sick person, while doctors and members of the military were also present around him. This image was later deleted from his account.
Trump’s remarks about Pope Leo, as well as the publication of this image, were met with immediate reactions from some prominent Catholic Church figures. Massimo Faggioli, an expert on papal affairs, told Reuters: “Even Hitler or Mussolini did not openly attack the Pope in this way.”
On Monday morning, Pope Leo, in response to Trump’s remarks and in an interview with Associated Press, said: “Placing my message on the same level as what the president has done shows that the message of the Gospel has not been properly understood. I am sorry about that, but I will continue on the path that I believe is the mission of the Church in today’s world.”
He added: “I will not enter into debate. My words are certainly not intended to attack any individual. The message of the Gospel is very clear: blessed are the peacemakers.”
Pope Leo continued: “I have no hesitation in proclaiming the message of the Gospel and I invite all people to seek ways to build bridges of peace and reconciliation and always avoid war.”
He also, in response to another journalist’s question, said: “I have no fear of the Trump administration and I will continue to boldly proclaim the message of the Gospel; because I believe this is my mission and the mission of the Church.”
