Many of Donald Trump’s religious-right followers were appalled at his Sunday social media post sharing an AI-generated image of him as a Christ-like figure healing or resurrecting someone while surrounded by people gazing at him in prayerful adoration. The Trump-as-Jesus post was posted shortly after Trump posted a long screed insulting the pope.
After an uncharacteristic flood of criticism from some of his most loyal fans, Trump took the post down. But when a reporter asked him about the image, he claimed that it showed him as a doctor, and that ‘only the fake news’ could consider otherwise.
That was particularly unconvincing gaslighting, because much of the harsh criticism that came Trump’s way came from his generally adoring religious-right fans—people who have demonstrated an extraordinary willingness to justify, dismiss, or explain away his bad behavior.
It may be that many of his Christian supporters were genuinely appalled at what many called blasphemy. Some may have been worried that it made them look bad. But there were plenty of conservative Christians calling him out. Among those who criticized Trump online and urged him to take the image down were MAGA insiders like Sean Feucht, Doug Wilson, Megan Basham, and Brilyn Hollyhand, as well as former Trump fans like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Joel Webbon.
That’s not to say there weren’t true Trump die-hards willing to come up with their own justifications. One commenter responding to Feucht described the image as “confirmation of the Kim Clement prophecy,” a prophecy that has circulated among MAGA Christians for years and which Trump himself promoted last month.
Predictably, the cultishly devoted MAGA “prophet” Shane Vaughn took to social media to defend Trump and call for MAGA to “calm down.” But even Vaughn recognized that the image showed Trump as “Christ-like.”
“Do you understand what a parable is?” Vaughn asked on his Facebook page, describing the image as symbolism showing that Trump was sent by God to heal the U.S.
“Donald Trump is a deliverer raised up by God for this nation for this moment in time,” Vaughn wrote. “And only those that understand that can comprehend the picture he posted.”
Trump’s supporters breathed a sigh of relief after the image was pulled down. That way people like Feucht can get back to promoting the “Holy Ghost revival” service that he is putting on with help from the White House on May 16, the eve of the official Freedom 250 event on the National Mall at which Trump and his pals are set to “rededicate” America to God.
