Donald Trump kicked off Monday by posting an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social, accompanied by a message calling Pope Leo XIV “WEAK” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy. The post, which showed Trump kneeling to heal the sick amid bombers and fireworks, was deleted hours later after backlash from Christian groups.
By noon, the president staged an impromptu press event outside the White House, where a woman wearing a “DoorDash Grandma” T-shirt delivered McDonald’s bags to him. Trump praised her “no tax on tips” stance and handed her a $100 bill, while taking questions on Iran and the ceasefire. The woman, later identified as Sharon Simmons, is a political operative, according to government records.
Trump claimed the AI image was meant to depict him as a doctor for the Red Cross, dismissing criticism as “fake news.” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, expressed disappointment over the attack on the Pope. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she was “praying against” the president’s actions.
The episode follows Melania Trump’s unscheduled appearance last week to deny ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Critics see the McDonald’s stunt as an attempt to distract from the Jesus post, with one observer calling the day’s events “flooding on an appropriately biblical scale.”
