Trump posts AI-generated photo of himself dressed as the pope

• The White House posted an AI-generated photo of President Donald Trump, who was depicted as the pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Trump attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome last weekend.
• The president, days later, joked that he'd "like to be pope," adding, "that would be my number one choice."
• Cardinals are set to begin a conclave this week to elect the next pope.

The posted an AI-generated photo of President Donald Trump depicted as the late Friday night, days after he joked that he'd "like to be pope."

The — which first appeared on Trump's account — was posted days before Catholic cardinals are set to begin a to .

Trump attended ' funeral in Rome last weekend, during which he also met with Ukrainian

On Tuesday, days after returning from Francis' funeral, Trump outside the White House that he'd "like to be pope," adding, "that would be my number one choice."

He followed up by saying that he has "no preference" over who is ultimately selected.

Vice President JD Vance, who in 2019, met with the Roman Catholic pontiff a day before his death.

Francis died of a stroke that ultimately led to irreversible heart failure, according to a death certificate issued by the Vatican.

The post of the AI-generated image sparked widespread social media response, with some users defending it as a joke and others strongly denouncing the image.

The , which represents the state's bishops, strongly condemned the post.

"There is nothing clever or funny about this image," said in a on X.

"We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter," the group said.

"Do not mock us."

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, an outspoken Trump critic, criticized the post and it "affirms how unserious and incapable [Trump] is."

Conservative commentator Bill Kristol, a harsh critic of Trump, asked Vance in a post on X, "Hey, @JDVance, you fine with this disrespect and mocking of the Holy Father?"

Vance fired back at Kristol in a reply on X, which referenced Kristol having been a proponent of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

"As a general rule, I'm fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen," wrote Vance, who served as a U.S. Marine in Iraq.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked to respond to criticism about the image, said, "President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty," according to the Associated Press.

This is not the first time the White House shared a controversial AI-generated image of Trump.

In February, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich an image of Trump depicted as a king, after the administration moved to eliminate New York City's congestion pricing program.

Trump referred to himself as the king in a Truth Social post touting that "congestion pricing is dead."

"Manhattan and all of New York, is saved. Long live the king," Trump on Truth Social in February.

— C온라인카지노사이트's contributed to this story.