'I thought it was me as a doctor,' Trump says of deleted Jesus-like image

• President Donald Trump shared an image on Truth Social depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure healing a sick person.
• The post, now deleted, followed a public disagreement between Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran.
• Trump criticized the Pope on social media, calling him "WEAK on Crime" and taking credit for his election.

President Donald Trump posted an illustration of himself appearing as a Jesus Christ-like figure on April 12, though he later said he thought it was him as a doctor.

The image posted on Truth Social shows Trump in a white tunic and a red shawl with a shining light in his left hand. In the image, Trump appears to be blessing a man in a hospital bed with his right hand on the man's forehead. Upturned faces look at Trump, including one woman with her hands in prayer, positioning Trump as god-like. It evokes imagery of Jesus healing the sick.

The post comes as Trump and Pope Leo XIV are publicly at odds over the war in Iran. Pope Leo has directly criticized Trump's harsh language, including last week's threat that "a whole civilization will die tonight." Trump, just before posting the apparent-AI picture of himself as Jesus-like, called Pope Leo "WEAK on Crime," and took credit for Leo's selection to the papacy.

But by midday on April 13, the post had been taken down. Talking to reporters at the White House, Trump denied it was a depiction of him as Jesus.

"I thought it was me as a doctor. And it had to do with Red Cross," he said. "And only the fake news could come up with that one...I make people a lot better."

Here is what to know:

What did Trump say about the Pope?

Trump took to Truth Social to criticize Pope Leo in a lengthy post on April 12. Pope Leo, the first American Pope, has been outspoken about some of the Trump administration's policies since being elected to replace the late Pope Francis in May 2025.

“Today, as we all know, there was this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” Pope Leo said while addressing ‌journalists ⁠outside his residence on April 7 in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, after Trump's threats against Iran included the "whole civilization."

Leo praised the ceasefire Trump announced later that week, but over the weekend, as peace negotiations failed in Pakistan, Pope Leo said in a prayer service, "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life."

Pope Leo also reportedly met with Democratic strategist David Axelrod, which Trump mentioned in his post.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump's Truth Social post stated. "I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do ... If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican."

The Pope responded while answering questions from reporters, calling Trump's platform name itself "ironic."

"I have no fear with neither the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel," he said. "I do not look at my role as being political, or politician. I don’t want to get into a debate with him. I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing. And I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace."

Read Trump's full post about the pope here:

See AI-picture of Trump he thought made him a doctor

Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Antonio Fins, Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY Network

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter),Threads,Bluesky andTikTok.