Trump Shares AI-Generated Image Depicting Himself as Pope After Joking About Wanting the Position

With the papal conclave about to begin and a new head of the Catholic Church soon to be chosen, former President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image depicting himself as the Pope.

Trump posted the image, showing him in traditional papal attire, on his social media platform on Friday, May 2. The official White House social media account later .

Reactions to the image were mixed, with one critic calling it “ for Catholics.”

Following the death of on Easter Monday, the Catholic community and the world are awaiting the selection of his successor, which will take place during the papal conclave starting on May 7.

“I’d like to be Pope,” Trump on April 30, when questioned about who the next Pontiff should be, adding, “That would be my number one choice.”

This remark was supported by figures such as Sen. Lindsay Graham, who jokingly expressed his “excitement” at the President being “open to the idea of being the next Pope.”

Trump also mentioned New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, as a potential candidate for the papacy. Dolan is seen as Trump’s preferred cardinal and has delivered traditional prayers at both of his inaugurations.

“I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good,” Trump commented.

On May 1, Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the “,” and appointed Cardinal Dolan as a member.

Trump attended Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, April 26. The two leaders had a complex relationship, marked by disagreements over Trump’s deportation policies, which the Catholic Church leader criticized as causing “ and of entire families.”

Pope Francis also described Trump’s initial efforts to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border as

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