President Trump on Tuesday had a prepared reply when reporters requested who he wish to see develop into the subsequent supreme pontiff. “I’d prefer to be pope,” he joked to reporters on the White Home. “That will be my primary alternative.”
He took the joke a step additional on Saturday, sharing on social media what seemed to be an A.I.-generated picture of himself carrying the normal vestments of the pope. The picture depicts him in a white cassock with a cross round his neck, his face solemn as he raises a pointed finger.
The origins of the picture weren’t instantly clear, and Mr. Trump didn’t embrace any commentary in his put up. He shared the picture on Reality Social, Instagram and X, and the White Home reposted it on its official Instagram and X accounts.
The concept of “Pope Trump,” as some folks referred to as it, was instantly polarizing. Some spiritual folks, together with Catholics, didn’t see the humor in it, calling the picture offensive, at a time when tens of millions of individuals have been nonetheless mourning Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday. A number of commenters on Reality Social, which is run by an organization managed by Mr. Trump, referred to as the put up sacrilegious and mentioned it fueled misinformation.
Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican Nationwide Committee, mentioned posting the picture throughout a interval of mourning was proof that Mr. Trump was “unserious and incapable.”
Dennis Poust, govt director of the New York State Catholic Convention, the general public coverage arm for the state’s Catholic bishops, mentioned the put up was surprising and “disrespectful,” and got here at a very uncooked second.
“It’s by no means acceptable to ridicule or mock the papacy,” Mr. Poust mentioned, noting that American anti-Catholicism has a historical past of concentrating on the papacy. Although the president could not have supposed to insult the Catholic Church, Mr. Poust mentioned, “It does trigger offense.”
“I hope that he regrets posting it,” Mr. Poust mentioned.
However some conservative Republicans have been enjoying together with the president’s joke this week. Amongst them was Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. “I used to be excited to listen to that President Trump is open to the concept of being the subsequent Pope,” he mentioned Tuesday in a put up on X. “The primary Pope-U.S. President mixture has many upsides,” he added. “Looking ahead to white smoke … Trump MMXXVIII!”
The Vatican, which is deep in preparations for the election of Pope Francis’ successor, couldn’t instantly be reached for touch upon the picture.
It’s not the primary time that Mr. Trump has shared polemical content material that seemed to be generated with synthetic intelligence. In February, he posted a video that depicted the Gaza Strip reimagined as an opulent resort emblazoned together with his identify. A consultant for the Hamas-run authorities in Gaza referred to as the video “disgraceful.”
After his jest to reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Trump, who has considerably expanded the affect of conservative Christians within the White Home, mentioned he had no robust desire for pope. However then he pointed to the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, as one in all his favourite candidates. Cardinal Dolan is just not among the many front-runners which have emerged to be the subsequent pope, who will probably be elected at a conclave that begins Wednesday.
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