On Friday, the White House shared an AI-generated image of President Donald Trump depicted as the pope, shortly after he joked about wanting to "be pope. " This image, which initially appeared on Trump's Truth Social account, was posted as cardinals prepared to begin the conclave on May 7 to elect the next pope. Trump had attended Pope Francis' funeral in Rome last weekend, where he also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A few days after returning from the funeral, on Tuesday, Trump joked to reporters outside the White House that being pope would be his "number one choice, " though he added he had "no preference" on who would ultimately be selected. Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met Pope Francis one day before his death. According to a Vatican-issued death certificate, Francis died from a stroke that caused irreversible heart failure. The AI-generated image post triggered widespread reactions on social media, with some defending it as a joke and others condemning it strongly. The New York State Catholic Conference, representing the state's bishops, condemned the post, stating, "there is nothing clever or funny about this image. " They added in an X post, "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, " they urged. Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and an outspoken Trump critic, also denounced the post, saying it "affirms how unserious and incapable [Trump] is. "