Vice President JD Vance — who is a Catholic — is again downplaying a post shared by President Donald Trump that depicts him as a religious figure, this time Jesus Christ.
Catholic VP JD Vance Laughs Off Criticism After Donald Trump Posts AI Photo As Pope Following Pope Francis’ Death
In May 2025, Trump previously shared an AI-generated image of him as pope following the death of Pope Francis. The AI (artificial intelligence) -generated image showed Trump’s face wearing normal garb with a large gold cross necklace. The photo riled up the internet and Catholics worldwide. the New York State Catholic Conference spoke out on X and said:
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”
At the time, VP Vance — who happened to be one of the last people to be seen with the Pope — addressed the criticism by laughing it off. He said, “As a general rule, I’m fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen.”
RELATED: Outrage Erupts After Donald Trump Shares Racist Video Depicting Barack And Michelle Obama As Apes
Donald Trump Slams Pope Leo XIV’s Criticism Of War In Iran Then Posts AI Photo Of Himself As Jesus
Nearly a year later, Donald Trump has now posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ. And again, JD Vance is downplaying the severity of Trump’s antics and corresponding comments from critics. As we previously shared, on Sunday (April 12), President Trump shared the image of him depicted as Jesus and after subsequent criticism, he deleted the post.
According to CBS News, Trump posted the image after sharing a post where he called out Pope Leo XIV. The pope first criticized the United States for its violent operations in Iran. Trump then took to Truth Social and called Pope Leo “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And 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, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested. Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump later told CBS News senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell that Pope Leo is “wrong on the issues.” Pope Leo addressed Trump’s Truth Social post while on a flight to Algeria on Monday. He said:
“The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone, and the message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do. We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”
Catholic VP JD Vance Downplays Donald Trump’s Post Depicting Himself As Jesus Christ As A ‘Joke’
After President Donald Trump slammed Pope Leo XIV and posted himself as Jesus Christ, he defended himself. On Monday (April 13), Trump claimed he thought the photo he shared of himself as Jesus was actually of him as a doctor.
He confirmed it was him who indeed posted the image, unlike the last time he had to delete a controversial post which depicted Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes/monkeys. During that incident, VP Vance also downplayed the controversy as “not real.” Speaking with reporters about his latest controversial post, Trump said:
“I did post it. And I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support. And only the Fake News can come up with that one. I just heard about it, and I said, ‘How did they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”
VP Vance has since taken up for Trump, downplaying the post-and-delete as a “joke” and that “a lot of people weren’t understanding his humor.” Vance told Fox News‘ Bret Baier:
“Well, first of all, Bret, I think the president was posting a joke. And of course, he took it down because he recognized that a lot of people weren’t understanding his humor in that case. I think the president of the United States likes to mix it up on social media, and I actually think that’s one of the good things about this president, is that he’s not filtered. He doesn’t send everything through a communications professional. He actually reaches out directly to the people.”
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!