US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a picture that he posted on Truth Social, which depicted him as a Jesus-like figure and has now been deleted, was actually supposed to show him as a doctor.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support.

“And only fake news could come up with that one. I just heard about it, and I said how did they come up with that. It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better,” Trump told reporters at the White House when he was asked whether he had posted the picture.

The AI-generated image of Trump as a Jesus-like figure drew widespread ​criticism, even from some religious conservatives who typically support him.

It depicted Trump in a white robe with an apparently healing hand on a prone man’s head.

In the painting-like image posted on Sunday, Trump was seen holding a glowing orb ​in one hand and using his other hand to touch a seemingly sick man on the forehead. The Statue of Liberty, fireworks, a fighter jet and eagles ​could be seen in the background.

The post could create a ⁠rift between Trump and the religious right, whose support was critical to his victory in the 2024 election.

It came ‌amid his escalating feud with Pope Leo, who has criticised the US-Israeli war on Iran as inhumane.

Shortly before publishing the image, the president posted a lengthy screed against Pope Leo, calling him “WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

Leo, the first US-born pope, said in response to Trump’s attacks that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue to ​speak out.

Meanwhile, Trump’s post was removed on Monday morning.

Brilyn Hollyhand, who served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, wrote about the post on X: “This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record ​should speak for itself.”

Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and outspoken critic of transgender athletes in women’s sports who has appeared with Trump at rallies, wrote ​on X she could not understand why Trump posted the image.

“Does he actually think this?” she wrote. “Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well ‌2) God ⁠shall not be mocked.”

Trump won large majorities of Christian voters in the 2024 election. He made gains among Catholic voters, who backed him by a 56 per cent to 42pc margin after splitting more evenly in previous elections, according to an analysis by Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Washington University and a former pastor.

After Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July 2024, some evangelical supporters said it was evidence he had been blessed by God.

Last ​year, after the death of Pope ​Francis, Trump posted an image showing himself ⁠as pope, prompting outrage from many Catholics.

In recent weeks, Pope Leo has become one of the most prominent critics of the war on Iran, even making an unusual direct appeal to Trump and urging him to find an “off-ramp.”

Leo has also said that ​Jesus cannot be used to justify war and that God rejects the prayers of those who start conflicts. Those ​remarks were widely seen ⁠as a rebuke to Trump officials like US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has cited scripture to justify the use of “overwhelming violence” against enemies and likened the rescue of a US airman inside Iran to the resurrection of Jesus.