After Pope Francis’ passing on April 21 aged 88, and his funeral being held on April 26, in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, US President Donald Trump sparked plenty of controversy.
Whether it be his dress code or his mannerisms during the funeral, it won’t compare to what he has done today (May 3) on social media, and people are infuriated by it.
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He disrespected protocol during the funeral
Hundreds of thousands of people came to the Pope’s funeral, including world leaders such as Trump and his First Lady Melania.
Firstly, he was called out for not being dressed in black, and then for chewing gum and checking his phone during the funeral.
And now, this!
After revealing who he wanted to be the next pope, he made his choice clear in an Instagram post.
He shared an AI-generated image of himself as the pope, sitting on a gold ornate chair and holding his index finger up in the air.
People didn’t take his “joke” lightly
“Cannot believe this is real. I don’t expect any level of respect from Trump, but this is a new low,” one user angrily wrote.
“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. This is extremely disrespectful,” another added.
He even spoke to reporters about it
He was asked by reporters who he’d like to be the next pope after Pope Francis on the lawn of the White House, to which Trump joked:
“I’d like to be pope – that’d be my number one choice.”
It wasn’t humorous for people
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), one user wrote: “A convicted pope,” while another added: “Let me guess, ‘I’d be a better pope than any past pope.'”
“If he becomes pope, then perhaps there will be historic changes in the religious system,” a third said jokingly.
Not their first time with controversial AI-generated photos
In February, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich posted an AI-generated photo of Trump as king on X.
This came after the administration eliminated New York City’s congestion pricing program. Trump even referred to himself as king afterward on his platform, Truth Social.