Does Trump Think Catholics Are a Bunch of Fucking Morons?

Shortly after posting a hateful screed against Pope Leo XIV, convicted felon Donald Trump posted an image that depicted him as a Jesus figure, which quickly drew rare criticism from the religious right, prompting allegations of blasphemy. 

The post also came mere hours after Chicago's Cardinal Cupich lambasted the Trump administration for posting “sickening” social media content about the Iran war during an interview on 60 Minutes.  The CBS show interviewed Cupich and two other high-ranking American Catholics (Newark's Cardinal Tobin and Washington DC's Cardinal McElroy) days after Pope Leo XIV ramped up his criticism of the war. 

The shocking image posted by Trump was in the style of a painting, depicting him in a long white robe with a red cloak draped around his shoulders. In one hand was an orb glowing with light; Trump’s other hand rested on the forehead of a man in what resembled a hospital bed — light beaming from the man’s head as Trump appeared to pray for his healing. Patriotic symbols including an eagle, fireworks and the Statue of Liberty filled the frame.

Before the post was deleted, evangelical and Catholic allies called the image blasphemous in a rare public break from a base that has largely stood by Trump.  “I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” wrote Megan Basham, a prominent conservative Protestant Christian writer and commentator. “But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.” 

Isabel Brown, a Catholic podcaster with the Daily Wire outlet and a conservative influencer allied with the Trump White House, spoke out against it.  “This post is, frankly, disgusting and unacceptable, but also a profound misreading of the American people experiencing a true and beautiful revival of faith in Christ in the midst of our broken culture,” Brown wrote.  

Faced with such quick backlash, Trump attempted to explain that he thought he was being depicted as a "doctor."  “I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker, which we support,” Trump said.  “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better,” Trump continued. “And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”  Trump added “only the fake news” could suggest he was depicting himself as Jesus, ignoring the criticism he received from his own religious supporters.  Last year, Trump shared a picture of himself dressed in full papal robes after joking that he would “like to be pope”, an image that also sparked widespread attention and debate online.

The new image and the subsequent reaction echoed a Truth Social post Trump ultimately deleted earlier this year, a video that at the end briefly showed Barack and Michelle Obama depicted as apes. The post was deleted after roughly 12 hours, but not before the White House press secretary dismissed criticism and urged the news media to “stop the fake outrage.”