Allies, enemies close ranks against Trump

Political allies and enemies of  US President Donald Trump have united in condemning him.

The condemnation followed the picture Trump posted depicting himself as Jesus Christ and his attack on, Catholic Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV.

The image shows Trump draped in white with a red shawl, placing his hands, glowing with a divine light, on a sick patient in a hospital bed as a soldier, a nurse and others look on in adoration.

Behind him are some US motifs, like the Statue of Liberty and the American flag. Above him are what appear to be angels. One seems to have horns.

Conservative activist and commentator Riley Gaines, an ally of the Trump administration, slammed the President for his post comparing himself to Jesus Christ

‘I assume someone has already told him, but it behooves the President both spiritually and politically to delete the picture, no matter the intent,’ conservative commentator Michael Knowles wrote.

Right-wing influencer Riley Gaines reacted: ‘Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.’

Trump’s ridicule of the Pope got the attention of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who piled on the controversy.

‘I condemn the insult to Your Excellency on behalf of the great nation of Iran, and declare that the desecration of Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person. I wish you glory by Allah,’ the Iranian official wrote.

Ex-Trump ally and Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene went further, saying the post is ‘more than blasphemy’ and that ‘it’s an Antichrist spirit.’

The post came on the heels of Trump claiming that Leo, 70, was only made Pope ‘because he was an American’, adding: ‘If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.’

Trump’s bashing of the Pope and ‘blasphemous’ comparison to Christ come despite his closest advisors’ Catholic and Christian beliefs.

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. are all Catholic.

Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles are all either evangelical or Protestant.