Trump shares AI-generated image of himself as Pope
U.S. President Donald Trump stirred controversy and conversation on social media Friday night after posting an apparently AI-altered image of himself dressed as the Pope on Truth Social.
The president posted the picture at 10:29 p.m. Friday, without a caption or comment. The post immediately garnered positive and negative reaction online, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Pope Francis' death on April 21 marked a time of mourning for millions of Catholics around the world. Francis died from complications related to a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.
His funeral took place on Saturday in St. Peter's Square in front of heads of state, including the president and first lady Melania Trump, clergy and the general public. Francis' body was laid to rest in St. Mary Major, one of the four papal basilicas in Rome.
Comedian Terrance K. Williams posted on X, formerly Twitter, Friday night, "Pope Trump... Lol our President just posted this. He's trolling because he knows the media is going to flip out. Love it Actually I love the sound of King Trump, the first of his name."
Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health and former Democratic congressional candidate, also posted to X on Friday night, saying, "The guy who broke all 10 commandments is posting pictures of himself cosplaying as the next Pope."
Trump was asked this week whom he'd like to see succeed Francis as the new pope. "I'd like to be pope," he quipped.
Continuing, he added while speaking to reporters on Wednesday: "That would be my number one choice. No, I don't know, I have no preference. ... I must say, we have a cardinal [Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York since 2009] that happens to be out of a place called New York, who's very good.
"So, we'll see what happens."
Speculation has mounted over who could be the next pope, as betting odds and social media chatter have swirled. According to bookmakers and Vatican analysts, a handful of potential candidates have strong odds.
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