Donald Trump sparked widespread fury after posting the picture on his Truth Social account.

11:12, Tue, Apr 14, 2026 Updated: 11:30, Tue, Apr 14, 2026

New York City Marks 23rd Anniversary Of September 11, 2001 Attacks

JD Vance has responded to the backlash Trump has faced after posting the 'Jesus' picture (Image: Getty)

JD Vance has broken his silence after Donald Trump deleted a highly-controversial picture from Truth Social that appeared to portary the US President as Jesus. Earlier this week the 79-year-old US leader posted a bizarre AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus Christ-like figure.

Posted to his social media platform Truth Social, the image saw Trump draped in robes, surrounded by divine light, and seemingly “healing” a man while being flanked by figures who appear to be praying to him. Trump has since deleted the bizarre photo following furious backlash with the image even sparking outrage among Trump’s own MAGA base. Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, told Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier on Monday that the president’s post was meant as a joke and Trump likes to "mix it up on social media".

U.S. Vice President JD Vance Leads U.S. Delegation In Peace Talks With Iran In Pakistan

JD Vance said the controversial post was meant as a joke (Image: Getty)

“And, of course, he took it down because he recognized that a lot of people weren’t understanding his humor in that case,” he said. “I think the president of the United States likes to mix it up on social media.”​

The Vice President of the United States added that it was “good” that Trump is “not filtered.” "He doesn't send everything through a communications professional. He actually reaches out directly to the people", said Vance.

Vance said, “that in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality”. He added, “To stick to matters of, you know, what’s going on in the Catholic Church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.”

Trump posted an AI image of himself as a Jesus Christ-like figure

Trump posted an AI image of himself as a Jesus Christ-like figure (Image: Truth Social)

Despite the onslaught of backlash the US President defended the post, saying that " I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross, there's a Red Cross worker there, which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one."

Get the day's biggest headlines in UK and World news and more Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

In an extraordinarily lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that "Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican" if he "wasn't in the White House".

In response, Pope Leo said he has "no intention to debate" with Trump. He added: "I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, ⁠promoting dialogue and multilateral ​relationships among the states to look ​for just solutions to problems."