As the world looks to the Vatican, awaiting the white smoke of Francis' successor, "New Pope: Introduced by Washington." President Donald Trump tweeted an AI-generated image of himself in papal garb just 11 days after Francis' death.
The image posted on social media site Truth Social shows the White House chief of staff wearing a white robe, a papal hat and a large cross hanging from his neck. This comes after the president jokingly said he would like to be Pope when asked if he would like to succeed Pope Francis.
"I would love to be Pope. It WOULD be my number one choice," Trump said.
The post, which comes a few days before the conclave to elect a new Pope, prompted widespread criticism online.
Many Catholic users have demanded the removal of the photo, which they say shows a marked lack of respect for the past and future leader of the church.
“You are the Antichrist,” one person wrote. Also, someone wrote: “You are a disgrace to the American people.” Another person added: “Every time I think it can’t get any worse… it does.”
Many users are criticizing Donald Trump for posting the photo not only on his private profile, but also on the official Instagram page of the White House (the official residence of the US president).

“Is it possible that you posted this on the official White House website?”, “Disrespectful,” “You’re making a fool of yourself,” “You’re embarrassing the American people”… these are just some of the comments. Negative comments from users are the absolute majority.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday after a long but sudden illness at the age of 88. All cardinals who were under 80 the day before the Pope's death elect Pope Francis' successor in a conclave. The next pope can only be one of them – which rules out Donald Trump.