The official White House account posts an image of US President Donald Trump as pope.
The apparently AI-generated image, originally on Trump’s Truth Social account, is reposted by the White House on the X social network.
The Trump administration has a number of high-profile Catholics in prominent positions, including US President JD Vance.
Last week, Trump, asked about whom he’d like to see become the next Catholic pontiff, told reporters: “I’d like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice.”
Trump noted he actually had no preference, adding, “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.”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, is not on the short list of possible contenders for the top spot, but it does include another American, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. There has never been a pope from the US.
Trump and his wife Melania traveled to Rome last month to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
The two men had exchanged criticisms over a decade, mostly related to the pope’s plea for compassion for migrants, a group Trump has repeatedly sought to deport.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this