The AI-generated image, which portrayed US President Donald Trump in the likeness of Jesus Christ, was pulled from Truth Social after Speaker Mike Johnson personally intervened, and asked the US President to ‘delete’ it.
Johnson Steps In as Controversy Erupts
confirmed on Tuesday that he personally urged President Donald Trump to remove a widely criticised AI-generated image from social media — one that appeared to depict the president in the image of Jesus Christ.
“I did ask him to delete it,” Johnson told reporters, according to Politico report.
The image, which Trump posted late Sunday night on Truth Social without any caption, showed a figure in flowing robes placing a hand on the forehead of a bedridden man, surrounded by a nurse, a soldier, and a reverent-looking Trump supporter. American flags, fireworks, and the Statue of Liberty formed the backdrop. It was deleted by Monday morning.
Speaker Johnson said he approached Trump directly after seeing the post, telling him he did not believe it was being “received in the same way he intended it. He agreed and he pulled it down.”
Trump Says He Thought It Depicted a Doctor, Not Jesus
pushed back against the interpretation that the image drew a parallel between himself and Christ. Speaking to reporters, he insisted he believed the robed, red-sashed figure was meant to represent a doctor — not Jesus Christ.
Trump explained to Johnson how he understood the post and did not think the image was sacrilegious, Politic quoted the Congressman.
Despite the deletion, Trump defended the post on Monday, maintaining that the depiction had been misread by critics.
Republican Backlash Cuts Across Party Lines
The reaction from within Republican ranks was swift and, notably, unusually candid. Johnson, a, and senior members of his GOP leadership circle, which includes several Catholic lawmakers, fielded a wave of calls from constituents, fellow legislators, and church groups furious about the post, according the Politico report quoting three individuals familiar with the developments.
Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a prominent MAGA loyalist who had formerly aligned herself with Trump, broke ranks and denounced the image, saying she was “praying against it”, particularly in light of Trump’s concurrent public dispute with the Pope.
Representative Austin Scott was equally direct. “It’s not okay,” he said on Tuesday, adding that “God will not be mocked.”
The Pope Responds — and Pushes Back
Notably, Trump had spent the same weekend attacking Pope Leo XIV in a rather long Truth Social post, claiming the pontiff was soft on crime and “terrible for Foreign Policy.”
Pope Leo XIV responded on Monday, saying he had no fear of the Trump administration. He also appeared to take aim at the broader pattern of behaviour, stating he did not think “the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing… I will continue to speak out loud against war.”
Cracks Forming in the MAGA Base?
What may concern Trump’s inner circle more than the image itself is what the reaction reveals about the mood among his supporters. According to a Politico report, the episode is deepening fractures within the MAGA coalition at an already fraught moment.
The backlash cut across evangelical Protestants, traditional Catholics and the populist conservatives who form the backbone of Trump’s base — a sign of how little grace key supporters are willing to extend at a moment when frustrations are already running high.
Conservative radio host Erick Erickson, a well-regarded voice among evangelical voters, said the image may have been the final straw for supporters already worn down by unmet expectations.
“They’re not getting what they voted for to begin with. On top of that, whether he’s mocking their religion intentionally or not, he still is,” Erickson said. “I think we are looking not really at a MAGA crack-up per se, but a lot of the base becoming exasperated enough to start looking beyond Trump.”
