"Saturday Night Live" quickly lampooned an AI-generated image of Donald Trump dressed as the pope, which had been shared by the White House and the president himself. During the "Weekend Update" segment, SNL star Colin Jost mocked the image showing Trump clad in elaborate white papal robes, remarking that the president seemed to be "ordering a one-way ticket to hell. " Jost further quipped, "Who posts a photo of themselves dressed like a guy who died a week ago?" Trump had attended Pope Francis' funeral, the 266th leader of the Roman Catholic Church, on April 26. On Saturday, Trump and the White House posted the AI-generated image on Instagram. Jost also jabbed at Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, saying that if Trump seriously wants to be pope, "he should stay away from JD Vance, " who had met Pope Francis the day before his death. Jost humorously added that Trump must have walked past the open casket and thought, "Oh, we should do a 'who wore it best?'" The comedian concluded by condemning the photo, calling it "slightly disrespectful. " On Tuesday, Trump was asked by reporters if he had anyone in mind to succeed as pope, to which he jokingly replied, "I'd like to be pope; that would be my number one choice. " SNL was not the only one criticizing Trump’s AI image. The New York State Catholic Conference denounced the post on X, stating, "There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. " They added, "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. Do not mock us. " Conservative commentator Bill Kristol, former chief of staff to the vice president during the Bush administration, asked Vance on X if he was "fine with this disrespect and mocking of the Holy Father?" Vance responded, "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. " SNL continued its satire during the "cold-open" segment, referencing Trump's first 100 days in office. James Austin Johnson, playing Trump, boasted, "It's been 100 days since I've been president, " and joked about signing approximately 147 executive orders, including "banning paper straws to defunding PBS. " Johnson also joked that Elmo, from "The Muppets, " had been handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement because "L stands for El Salvador. " He further quipped, "Recession will now be called 'recess. ' Fun, right?…America, get ready for a historically long recess!" The White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.