Topline
President Donald Trump said he “had nothing to do with” a photo of him as the pope that was posted on his Truth Social account and the White House’s official X account last Friday, and suggested it shouldn’t diminish the substance of official accounts—despite the photo drawing criticism from Catholic groups.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce that the 2027 NFL Draft will be held on … More
Key Facts
“I had nothing to do with it, somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the pope, and they put it out on the internet,” Trump said while answering questions from the press on Monday, adding: “I have no idea where it came from, maybe it was AI.”
Trump said he knew nothing about it and “just saw it last evening,” though it was posted by his personal Truth Social account on Friday night.
Trump also pushed back on the notion that Catholics were upset about the photo, saying: “They can’t take a joke. You don’t mean the Catholics, you mean the fake news media … the Catholics loved it.”
The image depicted Trump in a white clerical coat and a bishop’s hat, and was posted without a caption on both the White House and Trump accounts nearly a week after Trump attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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Further Reading
Trump Posts AI Photo Of Himself As The Pope After Joking He Would Like To Be The Next Pontiff (Forbes)
Trump draws criticism with AI image of himself as the pope ahead of the papal conclave (Associated Press)
