&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "THIS GOP lawmaker thinks POTUS is ‘almost second coming’ of Jesus even as Trump vs Pope feud escalates")
A Texas Republican congressman on Thursday (Apr 16) said that US President Donald Trump is "almost the second coming" of Jesus. His remarks come just days after the president posted and deleted an AI image depicting himself as Jesus Christ. Rep. Troy Nehls, 58, made the comment to CNN's Manu Raju while discussing Trump's ongoing public feud with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war. He appeared entirely unbothered by the conflict between the president and the head of the Catholic Church, and instead gave his full backing to the POTUS, who is facing accusations of blasphemy.
Also read | 'Fake Jesus!': Iran turns Trump's deleted AI-image into a viral LEGO diss track amid Pope row | In pics
Trump 'better than sliced bread'
The GOP lawmaker commented that he believed that "Donald Trump is better than sliced bread. I think he's almost the second coming, in my humble opinion." Nehls said that the POTUS had a very difficult job and that "He's done a fantastic job." He also conceded that the Pope too had a "tough job" but insisted that "Donald Trump has a very, very difficult job to do — the toughest job in the world."
Trump tries to downplay feud with Pope
The feud between Trump and Leo began after the pope called Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilisation "truly unacceptable." Trump responded on Truth Social by calling the American-born pontiff "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy."
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However, on Thursday, Trump tried to soften the optics of the clash, telling CNN's Kaitlan Collins outside the White House that he wasn't fighting with the pope, just disagreeing with him. "The pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. "I can disagree with the pope. I have the right to disagree with the pope."
Trump's statement was soon fact-checked by both Collins and CNN's Daniel Dale, who noted that Pope Leo never said Iran could have a nuclear weapon.
Who is Nehls to Trump?
Nehls has been one of Trump's most consistent advocates in Congress. After Trump's re-election, he urged fellow House Republicans to get fully behind the president's agenda without reservation. "Whatever that is, we need to embrace it," he said at the time. "All of it. Every single word."
