This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on April 15, 2026.
The AI image President Donald Trump posted of himself as Jesus is a sobering reminder not of how much Trump is obsessed with himself, but of how white evangelicals serve a higher power than Trump, and what that higher power may be like.
We already knew Trump viewed himself as a god. So of course he would post that. Why wouldn’t he?
During White House Holy Week events, Christian leaders like Franklin Graham and Robert Jeffress stood by smiling and clapping while Paula White gushed over Trump, even comparing Trump’s political journey to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Then when the two military personnel whose plane had been shot down over Iran were rescued, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth compared their weekend to Jesus’ death and resurrection.
So again, why wouldn’t Trump post that image of him as Jesus? By comparing himself to Jesus, he would simply be following the example of the Christians he’s surrounded himself with.
Yet, when Trump was asked about the post by reporters, he admitted to posting it while denying it was supposed to be Jesus” “I did post it. And I thought it was me as a doctor. Only the fake news could come up with that one. I just heard about it. And I said, ‘How did they come up with that? It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”
Maybe Trump is lying as usual. Or perhaps he’s being honest about how clueless he is. In either case, after all the pushback, Trump deleted the image.
But despite the president’s attempt to blame the media for the pushback, it was political conservatives pushing back against him loudly too.
Conservative backlash
“This should be deleted immediately,” worship leader Sean Feucht declared. “There’s no context where this is acceptable.”
Conservative activist Riley Gaines: “Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true: 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”
Cam Higby, a conservative commentator who converted to Christianity in 2025 after Charlie Kirk’s assassination: “Blasphemy from the Oval Office is not a funny troll.”
Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon: “Some saying he’s just trolling, and others saying it’s anti-Christian. When you divide your own party, it is self-destructive. To me it was a gaudy and juvenile post.”
Allie Beth Stuckey shared a popular meme of Ben Affleck smoking a cigarette with his eyes closed in response, and then said, “That image is what happens when Paula White is your personal pastor and people around you are continually comparing you to Christ.”
For once, I agree with Allie Beth Stuckey.
Then Doug Wilson chimed in. “I was very grateful to see how many conservative Christians immediately denounced the blasphemous Jesus/Trump image,” he posted on X. “I was also grateful to see how many center/left Christians suddenly agreed that public blasphemy is a thing we should all be concerned about.”
“Wilson believes public blasphemy should be considered a crime, punishable by the government.”
Wilson’s use of the term “public blasphemy” is noteworthy because in his ideal Christian supremacist society in which only a certain type of Protestant would be allowed to hold public office, Wilson believes public blasphemy should be considered a crime, punishable by the government.
While it’s nice that a lot of white evangelicals have finally discovered an issue they are willing to criticize Trump for, Wilson’s words are a reminder there may be more going on here regarding this exchange of artificial images that we should reflect on.