The contrast between a president invoking God while issuing threats and a pope warning against violence has turned what might have been a political disagreement into a full-scale war between church and state.  And with President Donald Trump now casting himself not just as a defender of faith bu t as a figure within it, the line between politics and religion isn’t just blurred — it’s being redrawn in real time. Gavin Newsom trolled Donald Trump with an AI-generated video of him and his administration officials being taken into police custody. (Photos: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images, Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) Over the weekend, Trump escalated his war of words with the most powerful religious figure in the world, and in a move that drew even more outrage, he shared an AI-generated image that portrayed himself as Jesus Christ. The moment underscored Trump’s willingness to weaponize religion, even against religious authority itself, while the message he’s sending is becoming harder to explain away as his impulsiveness appears to be shaping foreign policy amid the Iran war. ‘Desperate’ and ‘Hypocritical’: Trump’s Latest Effort to Limit Voting By Mail Meets Instant Rebuke from Top Democratic Leaders — and a Federal Lawsuit In a lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump blasted Pope Leo XIV as “weak on crime” and ineffective on foreign policy, accusing him of ignoring past COVID-era restrictions on churches while criticizing the Trump administration. He mocked the pope’s views on Iran and Venezuela, saying he doesn’t want a pope who opposes U.S. military action or questions his leadership, which he said produced low crime and a strong economy.  View on Threads Voices on social media scoffed at Trump’s use of political terms to characterize the pope. “I can’t get past ‘Pope Leo is weak on crime,’” one person laughed. Another added: “This is absurd. He’s attacking the Pope like he’s an opposition candidate.” Trump also claimed Leo only became pope because he was American and suggested the cardinals chose him to deal with Trump, adding that “if I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” He praised Leo’s brother as “all MAGA,” attacked the pope for associating with political opponents, and urged him to “get his act together,” stop aligning with the left, and focus on being a religious leader instead of a political one. One commenter noted: “The fact that he believes Pope Leo was elected solely to curry favor with him because he’s American is F—KING HILARIOUS. This is the literal definition of a narcissist.” Trump’s attack came amid a growing clash between the White House and the Vatican, as Pope Leo has emerged as a pointed critic of the administration’s war posture and its use of religious language to justify it. In his Easter message, Leo urged leaders to abandon violence and warned against a “desire to dominate others,” a message widely understood as aimed at Trump’s approach to Iran. Asked directly why he targeted the pope online, Trump doubled down.  Reporter: Why did you attack Pope Leo?Trump: I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess. We don’t like a pope who says it’s ok to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is ok. I am not a fan of Pope Leo. pic.twitter.com/cj3oh1jSIL— Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026 “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess. … We don’t like a pope that’s gonna say that it’s ok to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is ok in our cities. I don’t like it. I am not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime. He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world. I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.” The pope, speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane before a trip to Algeria, said, “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do. We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.” In response to a personal attack by President Donald Trump the night before, Pope Leo told journalists on the papal plane to Algeria:“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what… pic.twitter.com/zV6FuacGSM— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) April 13, 2026 The controversy didn’t stop there. Late Sunday, Trump posted the image depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure healing a sick man. The image, traced back to an earlier version shared by MAGA influencer Nick Adams, had been altered — most notably replacing a U.S. soldier in the background with a demonic creature. View on Threads The image drew backlash even from some of Trump’s supporters, who called it “blasphemy” and urged him to take it down. Critics pointed to the imagery as another example of Trump elevating himself in religious terms while attacking actual religious leaders. Among those speaking out was Marjorie Taylor Greene, now one of Trump’s strongest adversaries after she left Congress earlier this year.  “On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus,” she wrote. “This comes after last week’s post of his evil tirade on Easter and then threatening to kill an entire civilization. I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!” View on Threads By Monday afternoon, the image was taken down, and Trump blamed the media for the outrage. “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor,” Trump told a reporter at the White House on Monday. View on Threads “Only the fake news could come up with that one. I just heard about it and I said ‘how did they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better! And I do make people better, I make people a lot better!” In the meantime, California Gov. Gavin Newsom flipped the AI-generated image and created his own version, depicting Trump as the Grim Reaper wearing a MAGA hat, while disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s face appears in the background. “Trump may have deleted his post, but we will not be deleting ours!” Newsom’s office wrote. Behind the scenes, tensions between Washington and the Vatican have been building for weeks. A report claimed Pentagon officials warned the Holy See to align with U.S. positions or face consequences, invoking historical moments when political powers exerted control over the Church. Both the Defense Department and the White House denied the characterization, calling the meeting routine. Still, the fallout has been tangible. Plans for Pope Leo to visit the United States for its 250th anniversary were scrapped, with the pontiff instead choosing to spend July 4 in Lampedusa, a symbolic location tied to migrants and humanitarian concerns. The timing has only sharpened the divide. Trump and his allies have increasingly framed the Iran conflict in moral and religious terms, even as the pope has pushed back with calls for restraint and peace. ‘Hahaha’: Trump Drops Cringeworthy Post, Then Tries to Pretend It’s Nothing, But Newsom Hits Back with a Brutal Twist That Turns It Into a Nightmare He Can’t Escape ...read more read less