On Monday, May 5, US President Donald Trump told reporters he had nothing to do with the AI-generated image that was posted to his official social media accounts on Friday, May 2, depicting him as the pope.
But he said that his wife, first lady Melania Trump, found it amusing.
Reporters asked him about the image
Yesterday (Monday, May 5), reporters asked Trump about the AI-generated image posted to his official POTUS social media accounts on Friday.
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The image features him dressed in white and gold papal regalia, wearing a large cross necklace, with one finger pointed upward.
Trump said he didn’t know anything about it
Responding to questions about the image, the 47th President of the US said he had “nothing to do with it,” adding, “It was just, somebody did it in fun. It’s fine. Have to have a little fun don’t you?”
“I have no idea where it came from. Maybe it was AI,” Trump added. “But I know nothing about it. I just saw it last evening.”
The president remarked that his wife liked it
Trump claimed, “The Catholics loved it,” more importantly adding that the first lady also found the image amusing.
He said, “My wife thought it was cute. She said, ‘Isn’t that nice?’”
Melania is the second Catholic first lady
Trump’s wife is the second Catholic first lady in the history of the US after Jackie Kennedy.
Melania also attended the pope’s funeral in Rome on Saturday, April 26, with Trump and was reportedly ‘honored’ to have attended.
It was reportedly a ‘significant event’ for her
A source close to the first family told People that attending the pope’s funeral meant a lot to Melania. They said, “Melania is an open-minded person with respect for all different types of people and their opinions. They shared a love for children and their welfare.”
“[The pope’s funeral] is a significant event for her, a life experience few are able to share.”
The AI-generated image of Trump was controversial
The AI image posted to Trump’s official social media depicting him as the pope didn’t go unnoticed, but was rather a controversial one.
According to Reuters, while the president called it a “joke”, many found it offensive.
It was offensive for many Catholics
Despite the president claiming otherwise, many Catholics worldwide found the image offensive.
In response to the image, the Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wrote on X, “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown.”
