US President Donald Trump is facing criticism from all sides, including his own MAGA base, after posting an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope on social media.

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Trump shared the altered image on Truth Social on Friday evening, shortly after telling reporters he “would like to be Pope” and would be his own “No. 1 choice” to replace the late Pope Francis. He went on to recommend Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York for the role.

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Catholic leaders react angrily to Pope parody

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The post drew swift condemnation from Catholic groups and leaders. The New York State Catholic Conference, whose official X (formerly Twitter) account reposted the image, took particular offence.

“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us,” the organisation said.

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Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi also criticised the image, calling it “shameful.”

“This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the rightwing world enjoys clowning around,” he posted on X.

MAGA base and conservatives voice disapproval

Even long-time Trump supporters and conservative Catholics were not amused. One X user, who identified as both Catholic and conservative, warned, “This is worse than trolling. You’re going to lose a lot of Catholic support over stunts like this.”

Anthony Scaramucci, who once served as Trump’s White House communications director and is a practising Catholic, also weighed in.

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“Yes, I get. You are trolling and trying to trigger all of us. Especially us Catholics,” Scaramucci wrote. “But the arrogance and general stupidity and the disgrace that you represent will blow back on all of you.”

Vance shrugs off outrage

US Vice President JD Vance appeared to dismiss the controversy altogether, shifting the conversation to foreign policy instead. Responding to a question about whether he found Trump’s image disrespectful, Vance posted, “As a general rule, I’m fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen.”

That remark came after conservative commentator Bill Kristol questioned whether Vance supported “this disrespect and mocking of the holy father.”

Online backlash continues

One X user, Juan Santana, summed up the frustration of many Catholic followers, “This is not funny. This is not satire. This is EXTREMELY DISRESPECTFUL towards Catholics. Shows poor judgement. Would you do a similar joke with other religions’ leaders? Shocked. I was hoping both @realDonaldTrump and @WhiteHouse had been hacked, but it seems not.”

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