Photo caption: US Donald in Pope’s attire in an AI image
Days after Donald Trump jokingly declared his choice for the new Vatican leader, the US President on Saturday (May 3) posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed in papal attire.
In a recent video interview, Trump had jokingly said “I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice”, when asked who he thought should lead the Catholic Church.
The image of Trump dressed like the Pope appeared on his social media platform Truth Social. His new avatar has garnered mixed reactions from social media users. While some found the post humorous, others called it insensitive and accused Trump of mocking Pope Francis’ death.
The Pope died last month at the age of 88 due to stroke and heart failure, according to a death certificate released last week by Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli, reported Reuters.
The image of Trump dressed like the Pope has generated a wave of reactions
One of the social media users after seeing the AI-generated image said, “This is extremely disrespectful and narcissistic. Republicans really voted for that.”
“He posting himself as the Pope isn’t just absurd, it’s a blasphemous mockery of faith, power, and democracy,” wrote another user.
While a third user wrote, “I just don’t understand how you can hate on this guy,”
“Funniest man alive and it’s not even close,” commented a fourth
But Rev. Fr. Kelvin Ugwu in a post on his Facebook wall, said: “Donald Trump posted this AI image of himself as “Pope.” I like his sense of humour sometimes. I think it is just for the fun of it. People should just laugh and go.
“But while the picture is trending, let me quickly point out something. You see what he is wearing on his head? It is called the Mitre.
“Bishops, Cardinals and the Pope wear the Mitre as a sign of their authority when talking to the people. They take it off when talking to God. The Mitre is worn, however, for the homily, as a sign of their teaching authority.
“The Mitre has two folded peaks, which symbolise the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible.
“The Mitre also has two lappets behind as a reminder to the bishop to keep both the spirit and letter of the Bible.
“The overall shape of the mitre is also important. It resembles the tongues of fire that descended upon the apostles at Pentecost. So when a Bishop or Pope wears it, it symbolizes the presence and power of the Holy Spirit as they minister.
“Finally, the mitre is never worn over a cassock as seen in this Trump photo. The Mitre is used for mass, and it is worn when the bishop or Pope is fully dressed with all the other vestments for mass like the Alb, stole and chasuble.
