WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump dismissed criticism Monday of the White House's decision to post an AI-generated image of him as the next pope that roiled some of the world's over 1.4 billion Catholics.
"The Catholics loved it. I had nothing to do with it. Somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the Pope, and they put it out on the internet. That's not me that did it. I have no idea where it came from," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"Somebody did it in fun. It's fine. Have to have a little fun, don't you?" Trump asked, apparently rhetorically.
The president has previously joked about wanting to be the next leader of the Catholic Church, but the White House took it a step further Friday evening, reposting the apparently AI-generated image of Trump clad in the traditional white garb of the pontiff as the church prepares to select its next leader following the death of Pope Francis last month.
The social media post elicited strong condemnation from some of the Catholic faithful, who insist the decision to post the photo was in poor taste.
"NOT FUNNY, SIR," Filipino Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David wrote on Facebook. "An AI-generated photo was posted by the US President himself, a few days after he attended the funeral of Pope Francis and while the Catholic world is still mourning. With all due respect to his office and to the American people, we’d like him to know it’s not funny."
The New York State Catholic Conference said on X that there was "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," it added, referring to the papal conclave, set to start on Wednesday.
Father James Martin, a prominent priest who was close with fellow Jesuit Pope Francis, said it was "deeply offensive."