Donald Trump has always had a flair for self-promotion: gold-plated penthouses, giant letters on buildings, portraits in heroic poses, trading cards depicting himself as a cowboy, a superhero, even a muscular warrior with improbably defined abs. But apparently even all of that was no longer enough.
Yesterday, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus. Not beside Jesus. Not praying to Jesus. Not humbly kneeling in church. Jesus.
In the image, Trump wore a flowing white robe, cradled a glowing orb and appeared to heal a sick man with his touch while fireworks exploded in the background and patriotic symbols filled the frame. It looked less like scripture and more like a Vegas magic show sponsored by a casino and a monster truck rally.
Even some of Trump’s most loyal supporters finally seemed to notice that perhaps this was a bridge too far.
Prominent evangelical writers, conservative Catholics, and right-wing influencers who normally defend him through virtually anything suddenly found themselves using words like “blasphemy,” “sacrilegious” and “disgusting.” When even people like Riley Gaines and Michael Knowles are telling Trump to tone it down, you know you have entered rare territory.
Of course, Trump deleted the image after the backlash. That is his usual pattern: post something outrageous, bask in the attention, wait for the criticism, delete it, and pretend the whole thing was just misunderstood.
But the image mattered because it said something revealing about how Trump sees himself. Most presidents, no matter how vain, at least pretend to be public servants. Trump behaves more like the star of his own never-ending reality show, with every event, crisis, and holiday existing primarily as a backdrop for his personal mythology.
He cannot simply be president. He has to be the hero, the savior, the chosen one. He has to be the man who alone can fix it, heal it, rescue it, and redeem it. He wants politics to function less like democracy and more like a personality cult, and that is not how a healthy country works.
Presidents are supposed to project seriousness, humility, and some basic awareness that the office is bigger than they are. They are not supposed to post AI fan fiction casting themselves as the Son of God.
At some point, even people who support Trump should be able to admit that there is something profoundly strange about a man who spends so much time imagining himself as a messiah while the country around him burns.
The presidency is not supposed to be a mirror for one man’s ego. It is supposed to be a position of public trust. Trump keeps treating it like a platform for his own personal aggrandizement and enrichment. His loyal cultists usually play along. Finally, some of them objected. One wonders why they blindly support the rest of his narcissistic antics.
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