New York’s Catholic bishops—led by a favorite cardinal of Donald Trump—sharply rebuked the president over an AI-generated image he posted of himself as pope.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” the New York Catholic Conference of Bishops said in a post on X Saturday. “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.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment on the bishops’ statement.
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Trump, a non-Catholic, posted an AI-generated image of himself in papal white robes and a gilded mitre to Truth Social on Friday. The White House’s official X account later shared the post.
Asked earlier this week who should replace the late Pope Francis, who died last month, Trump joked that it should be him. However, he later suggested that it could be New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
“I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters earlier this week.
Dolan is the leader of New York’s conference of bishops, which condemned Trump over the post. The 75-year-old cardinal has long been an ally of Trump.
Dolan delivered a prayer at both of Trump’s presidential inaugurations. In 2020, Trump called Dolan “a great friend of mine,” to which the cardinal responded that the feeling was “mutual.”
Earlier this year, Dolan praised Trump by saying that he “takes his Christian faith seriously.”
Dolan has not made a personal comment about Trump’s post.
The Archdiocese of New York, the state’s conference of bishops, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s requests for comment.
Pope Francis, who died at 88 on Easter Monday after a stroke, was a fierce critic of Trump, especially his mass-deportation effort.
Trump and his wife Melania attended Francis’ funeral in front-row seats, where the homily seemed to reference Francis’ disapproval of the president.
Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, met with Francis at the Vatican the day before he died.
Vance was asked on social media Saturday whether he was “fine with this disrespect and mocking of the Holy Father” by Bill Kristol, a political commentator who was an aide in former President George H.W. Bush’s administration.
The VP defended Trump’s post and attacked Kristol’s neoconservatism, writing: “As a general rule, I’m fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen.”
Many social media commentators have taken issue with Trump’s post, calling it offensive to Catholics.
Michael Steele, an MSNBC pundit who once led the Republican National Committee, said that the post “affirms how unserious and incapable [Trump] is.”
“At 78, he remains a 10yo child, emotionally scarred and broken while desperate to prove he could be somebody,” Steele added. “His problem: he can’t grow up to prove it.”
Morgan J. Freeman, a producer for films such as Desert Blue and Hurricane Streets, similarly tore into the president.
“This post is a massive insult to Catholics, Pope Francis’ family, friends & devotees, and to the present conclave,” he wrote.
