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This week, US president Donald Trump posted an AI slop image of himself as Jesus Christ, miraculously healing a sick man while a host of angels look on from above and an American flag ripples in the background.
It was only the latest in a dizzying series of AI images the president has posted to social media — from a picture of himself as the Pope to racist clips depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes — his latest post appears to have been a step too far for his most ardent supporters.
Following a major outcry among Christian and far-right influencers, Trump deleted the picture of himself healing the sick man, sheepishly trying to play it off by telling reporters he thought it was “me as a doctor” — a bizarre excuse which, if you take it at face value, seems to suggest that the president thinks doctors dress in Christ-like robes.
But it was too late to stop a “GOP holy war” that had conservative and Christian activists calling the image starkly unacceptable. While Trump has never seen much support from the left, even his most ardent supporters on the right were taken aback, highlighting the sheer amount of collateral damage his offensive AI slop posts are causing.
“I support Trump, and I spend eight hours a day defending him,” conservative political commentator Cam Higby tweeted. “I will not defend blasphemy.”
“A little humility would serve him well,” anti-trans activist Riley Gaines posted.
Making the “doctor” excuse particularly laughable, during the days leading up to his latest faux pas Trump had accused Pope Leo of being “WEAK on crime and terrible for foreign policy” in a rambling Truth Social post.
The pontiff had criticized the war in Iran, decrying the president’s threat to wipe out a “whole civilization” as “truly unacceptable” and encouraging others to “contact the authorities — political leaders, congressmen — to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war, always.”
While we can only guess what Pope Leo thought of Trump depicting himself as Jesus, the latest backlash highlights how the president’s already tarnished public image continues to be eroded by the constant barrage of hateful AI slop on social media.
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