A controversial AI-generated image that depicted former U.S. President Donald Trump in a Jesus-like healing pose has been pulled from his Truth Social platform, after fierce pushback from prominent conservative Christian leaders — some of the politician’s most loyal core supporters. The digital artwork, which was uploaded to the platform late Sunday, showed Trump draped in flowing red and white robes, placing his hand on the forehead of a figure presented as unwell. Glowing light radiated from both Trump’s hand and head in the image, with an American flag displayed in the background and a crowd of onlookers staring up at him with expressions of reverence. The image quickly sparked widespread outrage across religious and political circles, prompting the former president to take it down on Monday. When questioned by reporters about the inflammatory post, Trump pushed back against claims he intended to frame himself as Jesus Christ. “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do Red Cross,” he told reporters. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.” Despite the former president’s explanation, the post drew sharp condemnation from high-profile conservative Christian commentators. Megan Basham, a widely recognized conservative journalist and political commentator, publicly denounced the image in a post on X, calling it “outrageous blasphemy.” “I don’t know if the president thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” Basham wrote. “He needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.” This incident is far from an isolated case: Trump has a well-documented history of leaning into religious imagery to frame his political persona, particularly ahead of the 2024 presidential election. During his 2023 New York civil bank fraud trial, the former president shared a supporter-drawn sketch that depicted him sitting alongside Jesus inside the courtroom. Beyond shared imagery, Trump’s closest political and spiritual advisors have repeatedly drawn deliberate comparisons between Trump and Jesus to frame his political struggles as a kind of divine mission. Earlier this April, during an Easter lunch held at the White House during his first term, prominent televangelist and long-time Trump spiritual advisor Paula White-Cain directly compared the former president to Jesus Christ, framing his legal challenges as a modern-day parallel to Jesus’ own betrayal and false accusation. “You were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It’s a familiar pattern that our Lord and Saviour showed us,” White-Cain stated at the event.