Observe dwell updates on the Trump administration.
President Trump mentioned on Monday that he “had nothing to do with” an outline of himself because the pope that was shared on his and White Home social media accounts over the weekend, distancing himself from the apparently A.I.-generated image that has agitated Catholics.
“I had nothing to do with it,” Mr. Trump mentioned whereas taking questions within the Oval Workplace. “Someone made up an image of me dressed just like the pope, and so they put it out on the web. That’s not me that did it, I do not know the place it got here from — possibly it was A.I. However I do not know the place it got here from.”
Mr. Trump, responding to a query about Catholics who’re displeased with the picture of him wearing white papal robes and a ceremonial headdress, additionally tried to downplay the mounting criticism.
“They’ll’t take a joke,” Mr. Trump mentioned, rapidly telling the reporter, “You don’t imply the Catholics; you imply the faux information media. The Catholics cherished it.”
However Catholics throughout the nation, together with a distinguished American cardinal, have prompt the picture is offensive, particularly as they mourn the loss of life of Pope Francis. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, in Rome for the papal conclave, mentioned when requested concerning the picture on Sunday that he hoped it was not the president’s doing.
“I hope he didn’t have something to do with that,” Cardinal Dolan mentioned. Requested if he was offended by it, the cardinal demurred however known as the picture a “brutta figura,” that means it had made a bad impression.
Whereas the president insisted he didn’t know concerning the picture of himself as pope, it was posted by the White Home on X and by his personal Fact Social account, which has shared a number of apparently A.I.-generated photos.
Requested by reporters final week who he wish to be pope, Mr. Trump first made the joke that he was his personal “No. 1” alternative. He then referred to Cardinal Dolan as “an excellent” possibility. (Mr. Dolan shouldn’t be a possible candidate.)
Mr. Trump shouldn’t be Catholic, however his spouse, Melania Trump, is Roman Catholic. Mrs. Trump was apparently keen on the picture of her husband in papal vestments.
“Really, my spouse thought it was cute,” Mr. Trump insisted on Monday within the Oval Workplace. “She mentioned, ‘Isn’t that good?’”
Some Catholic leaders in america had mentioned the picture might be interpreted as a mockery of their religion. “It’s by no means acceptable to ridicule or mock the papacy,” Dennis Poust, the manager director of the New York State Catholic Convention, the general public coverage arm for the state’s Catholic bishops, told The New York Times.
Mr. Trump wooed votes from the nation’s Catholics throughout each of his campaigns, and in the course of the 2024 race, he selected a vp who converted to Catholicism as an adult. Vice President JD Vance has been open about how his religion informs his politics.
“I’m positive with folks telling jokes,” Mr. Vance posted on social media in response to a query concerning the picture.
