Online Reporter
NEW YORK. — US President Donald Trump has attracted criticism from some Catholics after posting an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope.
The picture, which was shared by official White House social media accounts, comes as Catholics mourn the death of Pope Francis, who died on 21 April, and prepare to choose the next pontiff.
The New York State Catholic Conference accused Trump of mocking the faith. The post comes days after he joked to reporters: “I’d like to be Pope.”
Trump is not the first president to be accused of making a mockery of the Catholic faith. Former US President Joe Biden caused outrage a year ago when he made the sign of the cross at a pro-abortion access rally in Tampa, Florida.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to answer questions about Trump’s post during a briefing with journalists on Saturday. The Vatican is preparing to host a conclave to choose Francis’s successor beginning on Wednesday.
The image posted by Trump on Friday night features him wearing a white cassock and pointed mitre, traditionally worn by a bishop. He wears a large cross around his neck, and has his finger held up, with a solemn facial expression.
The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents bishops in New York, took to X to criticise the picture.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr President,” the group wrote.
“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.”
Left-leaning Italian former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also blasted Trump’s post.
“This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around,” Renzi wrote in Italian on X.
But the White House rejected any suggestion that the Republican president was making fun of the papacy.
“President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects to Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Meanwhile, Trump’s recent call for free passage of American ships through the Suez Canal has triggered widespread condemnation in Egypt, where legal experts, political leaders, and citizens have denounced his remarks as legally groundless and a serious threat to the international order.
On Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social, a social media platform he majority-owns, that US military and commercial vessels should be allowed to travel through both the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal free of charge.
He claimed both routes would “not exist” without the United States and said he had asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately “take care of, and memorialize, this situation.”
“Trump’s proposals about international waterways constitute a serious threat to international peace, security, and public order,” Asaid yman Salama, professor of international law at Cairo University.
Salama highlighted the 1888 Constantinople Convention, which established the fundamental principles governing international dealings with the Suez Canal, preserving the right of all countries to benefit from this global waterway.
He said Trump’s “legally baseless” claims, which ignore the sovereignty of coastal states over their territorial waters and straits, could lead to interference in countries’ internal affairs, a clear violation of the general principle of non-interference of contemporary international law.
Warning against disruption to international trade and harm to the global economy by US interference, the Egyptian legal expert urged the international community to stand firm in defending international laws and conventions and take serious steps to safeguard the legal bases for navigation.
Samaa Soliman, deputy chairman of the Foreign, Arab, and African Affairs Committee of the Egyptian Senate, affirmed on Monday that “only Egypt is responsible for securing and protecting the Suez Canal,” and the revenues generated from canal transit fees are a legitimate sovereign resource backing the national economy and serving Egyptian citizens, and shall not be impaired under any pretext or justification.
The Egyptian senator termed Trump’s call as “unjustified interference in the affairs of a sovereign state, and is inconsistent with the principle of mutual respect between states.”
Soliman said that the Suez Canal and the Egyptian economy have been harmed by the US as its unfair policies on the Palestinian issue fuelled the region’s instability and failed to stop the Houthis in Yemen.
Egypt’s revenues from the Suez Canal fell by more than 60 percent year-on-year in 2024 amid the Red Sea tensions, resulting in a loss of nearly US$7 billion, according to the Suez Canal Authority.
Sayed Abdel Aal, president of Egypt’s socialist Tagammu Party, said in a statement yesterday that “(Trump’s) remarks not only represent provocative rhetoric but also reveal a hateful colonial mentality.”
The party leader explained that canal fees are fair and are determined according to international standards, without discrimination, adding that the United States cannot impose exceptional conditions.
“Trump’s call can only be viewed as economic colonialism in a new garment,” he added.
Also on Sunday, the Egyptian Parties Alliance, which includes approximately 42 political parties, condemned Trump’s statement, criticizing it as “ignoring historical facts.”
The controversy has ignited strong reactions on Egyptian social media, particularly regarding Trump’s suggestion that the United States deserves credit for the canal’s existence. — BBC.com/Xinhua
