Trump deletes controversial Truth Social post

Trump deletes controversial Truth Social post where he appears Jesus-likeJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleBernd Debusmann Jrat the White House Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump has been verbally sparring with Pope Leo over the war in Iran. Faced with growing backlash, US President Donald Trump appears to have removed a controversial Truth Social post depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure. The AI-generated image, which showed Trump appearing to heal a sick man in a hospital bed, sparked fierce backlash from both sides of the US political spectrum, including from some of Trump's most ardent supporters. The post came just hours after Trump posted a lengthy message criticising Pope Leo XIV, a vocal critic of the US and Israeli military operation in Iran.The BBC has contacted the White House for clarification on why the post was removed. TruthSocial.com/@realDonaldTrumpThe image was deleted by Trump about 12 hours after he initially posted it.The now-deleted image showed Trump, wearing a white robe, with a glowing hand on the forehead of a sick man, which critics said was similar to religious paintings showing Jesus healing the infirm. The background of the images included the Statue of Liberty, a large US flag fluttering, fighter jets and an eagle, as well as a nurse, a woman praying and what appeared to be a soldier in uniform. Criticism of the image came swiftly, including from figured considered close to Trump and the administration. "This should be deleted immediately," wrote Sean Feucht, a Christian activist who is working on a series of faith-based events to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year." "There's no context where this is acceptable," he added.