Less than a week after President Donald Trump posted a photo of himself dressed as the pope − causing a debate over its timing − a new pope was chosen.
On Thursday, May 8, the papal conclave that started a day earlier resulted in Cardinal Robert F. Prevost of Chicago, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. He is the first pope from America.
While many are celebrating the “white smoke” billowing from the Vatican − the international signal known as the end of the papal conclave and the pick of the new pope − it wasn’t that long ago that the president stoked controversy over the apparent artificial intelligence-created image that went viral minutes after posting. Earlier this week, Donald Trump addressed the “pope Trump” image and joked that First Lady Melania Trump “thought it was cute.”
Here’s what we know.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025. Donald and Melania Trump attended the funeral on April 26, which was First Lady Melania Trump’s 55th birthday.
Less than two weeks after Pope Francis died, at about 10:30 p.m. May 2, 2025, Donald Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social what appears to be an artificial intelligence rendering of Trump as pope, with the traditional white vestments, white and gold mitre, and a large gold crucifix around his neck.
The AI image was shared by the White House and Trump’s official social media accounts, and went viral in minutes with at least 109 million views as of May 8, 2025. The post on X came ahead of the papal conclave, when cardinals from around the world headed to the Vatican to select the next pope.
On May 5, two weeks after Pope Francis died, Donald Trump addressed the viral image of him dressed as the pope, laughing it off amid questions of Catholic offense at the image.
“I had nothing to do with it. Somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the pope and they put it out on the internet. That’s not me that did it, I have no idea where it came from, maybe it was AI, but I know nothing about it, I just saw it last evening,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office, USA TODAY reported.
“They can’t take a joke,” Trump said of the media. “The Catholic’s (sic) loved it.”
Despite Donald Trump’s nonchalance about the photo, some leaders in the Catholic church did not appreciate the image. Last week, some posted their displeasure on social media.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” the Catholic Bishops of New York State wrote on X. “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.”
Pope Francis had also been critical of the Trump administration before his passing, saying the immigration crackdown was a “disgrace,” according to Reuters, in one example.
On May 5, while talking to reporters about the image, Donald Trump brought up First Lady Melania Trump and said, “Actually, my wife thought it was cute. She said, ‘Isn’t that nice?'”
“Actually, I would not be able to be married, though,” he said. “To the best of my knowledge, popes aren’t big on being married, are they? Not that we know of.”
Ahead of Pope Leo’s appointment, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest of Donald Trump’s five children, shared the viral image of his father dressed as pope, telling his Instagram followers, “White smoke!!!” (meaning he would choose Donald Trump as pope).
Donald Trump is not a Catholic. He used to identify as a Presbyterian, but in 2020 he told Religion News Service he began considering himself a non-denominational Christian.
Melania Trump, however, made news in 2017 when she met Francis and revealed she is Catholic when asking the pontiff to bless her rosary beads. The Trumps married in January 2005 at Bethesda-By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida, near his private club, Mar-a-Lago. Over the years, the president and his wife have attended Easter services there.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY, and Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
‘They can’t take a joke.’ Days after Trump defends viral AI pope photo, Pope Leo is chosen – The Palm Beach Post
