(SeaPRwire) –   U.S. President Donald Trump regularly uses AI-generated content to add flair to his social media posts. But his most recent share — an image that appeared to depict him as Jesus, bathed in otherworldly light and laying hands on an ill man — sparked such fierce public outcry that Trump removed it.

This is not the first time Trump has courted controversy with AI-generated visuals. In prior years, Trump shared an AI-made photo of himself dressed as the Pope, a video depicting the Obamas as apes, and a clip of him wearing a crown that apparently mocked “No Kings” protests against his rule.

This newest image upset even some of Trump’s long-time base of supporters, which includes evangelical Christians and conservatives, though he attempted to defend it when questioned by reporters: he stated he believed the picture showed him not as one of Christianity’s revered leaders, but as a medical doctor.

“I thought it was me as a doctor,” Trump told reporters Monday, noting the photo referenced the humanitarian organization Red Cross. Jesus? “Only the fake news could come up with that one,” Trump added.

The backlash from religious commentators and Christian supporters over the image came as Trump was embroiled in a feud with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war. In the now-deleted post, the sky featured a collage of patriotic imagery: the U.S. flag, service members, and eagles. For Trump, his hands glowed, with one resting on the forehead of a bedridden man. Surrounding him, several people — including a nurse, a soldier, and a woman with her hands folded together in prayer — watched him in awe.

The image had been shared previously, albeit with minor alterations, by newly appointed Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism, and Values, Nick Adams. In his since-removed X post, Adams said, “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.”

Riley Gaines, a Trump ally who has largely supported the President pushing out transgender women from sports, questioned the motive behind Trump’s latest post. “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,” Gaines added. “1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”

“I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” conservative Christian writer and commentator Megan Basham posted on X. “But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”

“This is gross blasphemy,” wrote political activist Brilyn Hollyhand. “Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself.”

Conservative political commentator Cam Higby posted on X that while he spends “8 hours a day” defending Trump, he “will not defend blasphemy.”

Christian militant organization Knights Templar International demanded that the U.S. President remove the image immediately: “We are deeply offended by this and have no other choice but to condemn it wholeheartedly and ask for a public apology to the Christian brethren who have been deeply upset by this depiction.” The group later called Trump’s decision to delete the image the “right move.”

An apology has yet to come, but Trump rarely apologizes for his missteps. Speaking to CBS News on Monday, Trump doubled down that the image showed him as a “doctor in fixing—you had the Red Cross right there.” Asked why he took down the image, Trump denied that it was in response to the backlash, saying: “Normally I don’t like doing that, but I didn’t want to have anybody be confused. People were confused.”

Trump also told CBS News that he believes he has “done more for the Catholic Church than any President in the last hundred years.”