Donald Trump's AI Jesus image could finally break his brand

The US president has built an entire personal brand around self-aggrandisement, but Donald Trump's AI Jesus post this weekend may be the moment that brand starts to crack.

From his property developments to the Trump Kennedy Center, the US president loves stamping his name on things. The Trump NFT cards and reposts of a shocking AI-generated vision for Gaza show he also likes seeing himself venerated as a historic hero or even messianic figure.

Trump's team has previously used AI to depict the president on Mount Rushmore and as Superman and the Pope. However, depicting him as Jesus may be a step too far even for loyal supporters.

The US president used his own Truth Social platform yesterday to post an AI-generated image that shows him as a Christlike character who appears to be performing a miraculous healing. Trump appears dressed in white robes and a red sash. A woman watches as she prays, while eagles and military figures soar above. There are typical signs of AI, including the wrong number of stars on the US flag and nonsense text.

There was no caption to provide an explanation for the post, which happened to coincide with Easter for Orthodox Christians. For many people, it's merely a new low in Trump's narcissistic self-promotion, but for conservative Christians who have traditionally supported him, the use of an apparently heretical image could be the branding sin that breaks their esteem for the former Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA owner.

Truth Social is mainly used by Trump supporters. Even so, despite having received over 12,000 likes at the time of writing, the post has received many critical comments.

"Is that Epstein?" one person asks about the person being healed. "This is blasphemy. Repent and turn to Christ," another user writes.

The image has been replicated on other sites. Writing on X, the former Republican representative Justin Amash, who describes himself as an orthodox Christian, described the image as "sacrilege". Megan Basham, a writer at the conservative Daily Wire, described it as an “OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy”.

Joey Jones, co-host of Fox News’ The Big Weekend Show, wrote: "That picture is looney tunes. I don’t clutch pearls or feign outrage I think all politicians are narcissistic by nature. But cmon amigo, no unforced errors would be great!”

The conservative political activist Brilyn Hollyhand wrote: “This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself. The same God who saved Trump’s life from that bullet sent His son Jesus to die for our sins. He died for Trump just as much as for you and I.”

Meanwhile a former Trump voter wrote: "This is not okay. Voted for him 3 times and I won’t say that I was wrong based on his 1st term and what he campaigned on. You have to call out wrong. This is WRONG. PERIOD."

The image isn't actually new. An almost identical version was posted on X by Nick Adams, Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism and Values, back in February (above). He suggested at the time that it showed Trump healing the US.

As for why Trump decided to resurface it on Truth Social now, some people are resorting to some pretty far-fetched explanations. Some have suggested that the man he's shown healing represents JFK and that the message is a wink to conspiracy theorists who claim that the former US president assassinated in 1963 is still alive.

A more plausible theory is that Trump posted the image in an attempt to troll the Pope. He posted it shortly after attacking Leo XIV for pointing out that the US's aggression against Iran wasn't very Christian. But as well as offending Catholics, he's ended up insulting Christians of all denominations.

Whatever the reason, some say the post shows that Trump is not fit to govern.

"This isn’t complicated. If someone lacks the awareness to recognize a bad decision right in front of them, that’s a judgment issue. And we’re supposed to trust that same judgment with the nuclear codes? The 25th Amendment exists for exactly this kind of concern," one person writes on X.

Could the 25th amendment finally be invoked not because of the chaotic debacle of the Iran conflict but because of an AI-generated image of Trump Jesus?