Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Art
A Word on that Image of Trump as the Pope

A Word on that Image of Trump as the Pope

Last updated on: May 5, 2025 at 8:25 am by Mary Pezzulo

0 Comments

A Word on that Image of Trump as the Pope 2025-05-05T08:25:25-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

a statue of Saint Peter, the very first Pope, making the "gesture of benediction" properly.

The Pope is supposed to hold up his index finger, middle finger, and thumb, while gracefully curling the ring finger and pinky. | Image courtesy of Pixabay

I guess I need to say something about the tacky AI image of Donald Trump as the Pope.

In case you’ve been living under a rock the past few days, get back under the rock and save yourself the trouble, because this is extremely silly. Donald Trump has been joking that he’d make a good new Pope, now that Pope Francis is deceased. I wouldn’t begrudge him one or two tasteless jokes in that vein; everyone’s making them just now. But Trump just doubled down on the unfunny bit by posting an extremely tacky AI image of himself, sitting on the Papal throne, and making a weird gesture while wearing rather small miter. I don’t know how the AI managed to get five fingers on each hand and a perfect rendition of Trump’s turkey neck but messed up the large, ungainly-looking hat the Pope is known for by people who don’t know anything about the Pope.

In addition to the miter being a mite too small, the AI opted to portray Pope Trump making a one-fingered “naughty naughty” hand motion instead of the standard “Gesture of Benediction” the Pope makes. The Pope is supposed to hold up his index finger, middle finger and thumb, while gracefully curling the ring finger and pinky. This is another Papal trademark which is so ubiquitous that there’s a medical condition named after it. It’s a gesture that goes all the way back to Peter and is rich in theological significance. I’ve been told that the gesture Pope Trump is making in the image is actually the Tawhid (one God) gesture from Islam, but this is probably not what the AI intended.

I’m not worried that Trump will somehow declare himself the Pope, of course. I’m a bit concerned that this will become an irritating routine for him. Our president has a habit of making a ridiculous joke, waiting to see the reaction, and then doubling down and insisting that it’s not a joke anymore. I think that’s how the obsession with buying Greenland started. I don’t think he’s going to try to invade the Vatican, but he might try to put an extra tariff on little plastic holy water containers shaped like the Virgin Mary.

I am actually surprised at how many people are extremely offended at the image.

Plenty of people are beside themselves. Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David calls it “not funny.” The New York State Catholic Conference agrees that “there is nothing clever or funny about the image.” Even Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who never met a rich and powerful person he didn’t want to kiss up to, said the image “wasn’t good.”

Personally, for me, the image doesn’t even ping on my radar. Not that it isn’t offensive, but Trump has done far, far worse to Catholics.

Trump’s visit to the John Paul the Second Shrine in 2020 was a lot more offensive to me, because it wasn’t just a fake image that didn’t really happen anywhere. He was actually standing in a church, not to pray and not to attend a Mass but to promote a political agenda. He wasn’t Catholic but just wanted to show off to court our vote. For that famous creepy photo of him and Melania to be staged, the photographer must have gone and stood behind the altar. That’s far closer to sacrilege than an AI picture.

Of course, in the years leading up to the 2020 debacle, Trump was responsible for tearing apart families at the Southern border. As a Catholic, I find that horrendously offensive, not just because a lot of those families were Catholic. Some of those traumatized little ones were surely named Jesús. Some of those terrified moms were surely named Maria. All of them were made in the image and likeness of God. Countries have the right and responsibility to keep their citizens safe by securing the border, but that doesn’t mean we ever have permission to be cruel to our fellow human beings.

Cruelty offends me, as a Catholic.

Donald Trump’s administration has now redoubled his cruelty to immigrants and to Latin people in general, sending innocent men to foreign gulags, banishing little children who are natural-born citizens to a country they’ve never known, even deporting children with cancer. As a Catholic, I find that gravely offensive.

Catholic bishops sued the government, and eventually had to stop resettling refugees, because of the Trump administration. That’s heartbreaking to me, as a Catholic.

Those things are offensive.

A stupid AI image of Trump in an undersized miter wagging an oversized finger, just doesn’t bother me as much.

Meanwhile, the White House’s official Twitter account has published another image of Trump, this time as a Star Wars character with a red lightsaber and weird, veiny biceps, in honor of Star Wars Day. There is a kerfuffle in the comments because apparently, the president honestly didn’t know that a red lightsaber means he’s a Sith and not a Jedi.

Now that’s an image that’s perfectly apt.

Mary Pezzulo is the author of Meditations on the Way of the Cross, The Sorrows an d Joys of Mary, and Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy.

Steel Magnificat operates almost entirely on tips. To tip the author, donate to “The Little Portion” on paypal or Mary Pezzulo on venmo

Religious Art

Religion News

American Christianity

Public face of Catholicism

Previous Post

May 3, 2025

Redemption in the Blue-Eyed Mary

Next Post

May 8, 2025 If Not for the Worry

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Apparently the magic trick all along was "allow his cultists to feel the pain." Biden's ..."

Mary

A Place Worth Fighting For

"To steal from Lincoln - Trump can screw some of the people all of the ..."

alwayspuzzled

A Place Worth Fighting For

"Good news, everyone! Things are beginning to finally change!"

Alex

America Doesn’t Have To Be The ..."

"I completely agree."

Mary

Americans are Equal, and Racism is ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What happened to Lot's wife as they fled Sodom?

Select your answer to see how you score.

She died by fire She fell into a well She turned into a pillar of salt She became blind