Trump claimed he saw the image for the first time Sunday night and had no idea where it came from. “Maybe it was AI… Actually my wife thought it was cute,” he said.
President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed backlash over an AI-generated image of him dressed as the pope, which was posted on his Truth Social account. “You don’t mean the Catholics, you mean the fake news media… the Catholics loved it,” Trump said at a White House press conference.
The image sparked criticism from figures including former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the New York State Catholic Conference.
Trump claimed he saw the image for the first time Sunday night and had no idea where it came from. “Maybe it was AI… Actually my wife thought it was cute,” he said.
The controversy comes amid mourning for Pope Francis, who died April 21. Trump joked the papacy isn’t in his future, saying, “To the best of my knowledge, popes aren’t big on getting married.”