How an image depicting Trump as Christ sparked a backlash on the religious right
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—President Trump’s decision to post an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure sparked outrage on the religious right, triggering the most significant pushback from his Catholic and evangelical Christian supporters since he returned to the White House.“We are a little bit beside ourselves,” said John Yep, CEO of Catholics for Catholics, a nonprofit that has hosted faith events at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and maintains close ties to the administration.On Sunday night, Yep was eating dinner with friends after church services when his phone lighted up with messages about the now-deleted image in which Trump, wearing robes, touches the forehead of a man lying in a hospital bed.The collective sentiment around the table, Yep said in an interview, “was one of sadness, because we were truly confused by this president after Catholics gave him such a resounding vote, and yet he is treating our faith with such disrespect at this moment.” He immediately reached out to contacts close to the administration to voice his “sadness and frustration.”Rod Dreher, a conservative writer who attended the Catholic baptism of Vice President JD Vance before he entered politics, went further. “Not saying Trump is the Antichrist,” Dreher told The Wall Street Journal.
“But he’s radiating the spirit of Antichrist, no question.” Pastor Douglas Wilson, co-founder of the conservative Calvinist denomination to which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth belongs, called the image “blasphemous.”Conservative Christians have rallied behind Trump in recent years, despite initial misgivings, standing with him through two impeachments and three elections. Trump, in turn, has made good on campaign promises
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