The Vatican has responded to Donald Trump’s ‘extremely disrespectful’ AI image of himself as the Pope.
Trump was slammed online after sharing what some are calling a ‘blasphemous’ image of himself photoshopped as the Pope, only days after the death of Pope Francis.
The Vatican shared multiple images of Pope Francis’s body in an open casket after he passed away aged 88 on 21 April.
They later confirmed his cause of death as being from a cerebral stroke and heart failure.
The 88-year-old was the head of the Catholic Church before becoming Pope in 2013, after Benedict XVI resigned.
Trump, in response, then shared a photoshopped image of himself as the Pope.
One person responded:
“Cannot believe this is real. I don’t expect any level of respect from Trump, but this is a new low,”.
Another labelled the move “extremely disrespectful,” saying: “Not funny. Not ‘rage bait’. As the president of the United States of America, you’d expect some decorum. The American people deserve better. Not some AI-generated slop of Trump masquerading as Pope. Trump isn’t even Catholic.”
Another said: “Please take this down. Many Catholics, myself included, find this as a great disrespect to the past and future leader of our church.”
Another raged: “Trump, as someone outside the U.S., I find your post utterly disrespectful to the Catholic community worldwide. The papacy is a sacred institution for millions, and this mockery is an affront to their beliefs.”
Even his supporters seemed appalled, with one person writing “I can’t defend this one” and another said: “I voted, but what is this?”
The former Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, shared his thoughts on the image: “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the rightwing world enjoys clowning around.”
Now, The New York State Catholic Conference shared on social media: “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.”
Trump, responded to the criticism by sharing: “I had nothing to do with it. It was just, somebody did it in fun. It’s fine. Have to have a little fun, don’t you?”
