‘Catholics love It. Actually, my wife thought it was cute’ – Trump responds to controversy over his Pope-Themed AI Photo

US President Donald Trump has addressed the backlash over an AI-generated image portraying him dressed as the Pope, which was posted on his Truth Social account last Friday and later reshared by the White House on X.  The image sparked criticism from the Catholic Conference of New York State, which issued a statement condemning the post. There is nothing clever or funny about it, the group said. 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.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the President, stating that Trump had traveled to Italy to pay his respects to the late Pope Francis and has consistently supported Catholics and religious liberty.On Monday, during a press event in the Oval Office announcing the 2027 NFL Draft, Trump was asked about the criticism from Catholic leaders and Christian groups. He dismissed the backlash, attributing it to media distortion.  You dont mean the Catholics you mean the fake news media. The Catholics loved it, Trump said. I had nothing to do with it. Somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the Pope and put it out on the internet. Thats not me that did it. I have no idea where it came from. Maybe it was AI, but I know nothing about it. He added that he first saw the image on Sunday evening. My wife thought it was cute, he said. Trump even joked about the idea of becoming Pope, noting, To the best of my knowledge, Popes arent big on getting married. Are they? Not that we know of. Rejecting claims that the AI-generated photo undermines the credibility of the White Houses social media presence, Trump said, Give me a break somebody did it in fun. Its fun.  The post Catholics love It. Actually, my wife thought it was cute Trump responds to controversy over hisPope-Themed AI Photo appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.