Donald Trump sparked outrage yesterday by posting an AI image of himself as a Christ-like figure while launching an extraordinary broadside at the Pope.
He branded Pope Leo XIV 'weak on crime' and 'terrible for foreign policy' after he spoke out against the war with Iran.
The US President also claimed the first North American head of the Catholic Church 'wouldn't be in the Vatican' if it wasn't for him.
He then offended the wider Christian world by posting an image of himself as Jesus on his social media platform Truth Social.
Created using AI, it showed the President as a robed Christ, seemingly curing an ill man while surrounded by adoring figures including a nurse and a soldier.
In the background, fallen US servicemen are seen ascending to heaven in the style of a Renaissance painting.
The picture, and Mr Trump's spat with the Pope, were all the more surprising given that his wife Melania is a practising Catholic.
Responding yesterday morning, the Pope said he had 'no fear' of the President and will continue preaching what Christian doctrine teaches him about the evils of warfare.
Donald Trump sparked outrage yesterday by posting an AI image of himself as a Christ-like figure while launching an extraordinary broadside at the Pop
Trump branded Pope Leo XIV (pictured) 'weak on crime' and 'terrible for foreign policy' after he spoke out against the war with Iran
After widespread condemnation, including from his supporters, Mr Trump removed the image from social media.
Later – in an impromptu press conference while receiving a McDonald's delivery at the Oval Office – Mr Trump claimed he was depicted as a doctor in the picture. He told reporters: 'It's supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better, and I do make people better.'
He criticised the media for having 'come up' with a narrative that he looked like Jesus, and said 'there is nothing to apologise for'.
The spat came after Pope Leo said God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have their 'hands full of blood'.
He also called the conflict in Iran 'atrocious' and urged Mr Trump to find an 'off-ramp' before describing the President's threat to wipe out Iranian civilisation as 'truly unacceptable'.
Taking to Truth Social, the President said: '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.
'Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise... If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican. I don't want a pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.'
Pictured: Donald Trump takes delivery of a McDonald's order at the White House on Monday, tipping delivery driver Sharon Simmons $100
He doubled down when questioned by reporters, saying: 'I'm not a fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime.'
The Pope said yesterday that he has 'no fear' of the US administration but doesn't 'want to get into a debate' with Mr Trump. Of the AI image, he said: 'I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.'
The Pope was backed by Christians around the world.
Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni, a Right-wing ally of the White House, said: 'I find President Trump's words towards the Holy Father unacceptable. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, it is right for him to call for peace.' Historian Massimo Faggioli said: 'Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the pope so directly and publicly.'
In the US, Robert Barron, bishop of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota, said the comments were 'inappropriate and disrespectful'.
Even Iran came to the Pope's defence, with president Masoud Pezeshkian writing on X: 'I condemn the insult to Your Excellency... and declare that the desecration of Jesus is not acceptable to any free person.'