With the impending papal conclave on the horizon to select the next head of the Roman Catholic Church, former President Donald Trump has made an unconventional proposal: himself.
On Friday, May 2, Trump posted an AI-created image on Truth Social featuring him dressed as the pope. The official X (formerly Twitter) account of the White House later shared the image, intensifying the online chatter.
This post followed just days after Trump, who does not adhere to Catholicism, humorously informed reporters of his desire to become the next pope. “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice,” Trump remarked. He then continued, “I have no preference. I must say, we have a cardinal from a place called New York, who’s very good, so we’ll see what unfolds.”
Trump was likely alluding to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York. Dolan had been appointed by Trump to the Religious Liberty Commission, which also included television personality Dr. Phil and former HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Nevertheless, sources such as Reuters and the BBC indicate that Dolan is not viewed as a leading candidate to take over from the late Pope Francis.
Trump’s ambitions of becoming pope—and the AI-generated visuals—ignited a wave of reactions on social media. Some users regarded it as a parody, while others speculated on the sincerity of Trump’s statement. The situation quickly generated memes, with users offering their own interpretations and AI renders.
One user joked, “I’M THE POPE NOW, THERE’S A PICTURE!” while another remarked, “If Trump doesn’t win the papal election, he’ll claim it was the most rigged papal election ever.” Other users expressed skepticism, with one post stating, “Trump’s whole ‘I want to be pope’ thing is a joke, but this is still a very strange thing for the president to post in typical times.”
Some commentators proposed that this move was a calculated effort to rile critics. “The ‘Trump for Pope’ narrative is clearly designed to provoke the libs,” one user noted, “but most people are just reacting by pointing out how bizarre these individuals are.” Another commented, “I don’t see this as trolling. I genuinely believe Trump thinks he should be the pope.”
This isn’t Trump’s initial venture into AI-generated material. During the 2024 electoral season, he released altered images, including one showing Vice President Kamala Harris at an alleged communist gathering and another inaccurately depicting pop star Taylor Swift endorsing him—both of which were thoroughly discredited.
As the Vatican gears up for its forthcoming conclave, Trump’s aspirations for the papacy may be more of a spectacle than a serious endeavor—but they have certainly drawn significant attention online.