Trump posts portrait of himself dressed as Pope

The color photo released on Truth Social shows the President of the United States sitting solemnly in an armchair, his face closed, dressed in the white cassock of the Pope, wearing a miter, and wearing the imposing gold cross around his neck, his left hand resting on his thigh and his right index finger raised towards the sky.

The photo, apparently generated by AI according to American media outlets who republished it on their social media accounts, is not accompanied by any comment from the Republican billionaire.

Since returning to the White House on January 20, Donald Trump has saturated the American and global media with announcements and commentaries on every topic. Earlier this week, he joked about the election of the next leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics, a religious minority in the United States.

" I would like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice ," he said when asked by journalists about his preferences for a successor to Francis, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88.

The day before his death, the Pope briefly received, on Easter Sunday, the American Vice President JD Vance, a converted and very conservative Catholic, two months after Francis's strong criticism of the Trump administration's policy of expelling immigrants.

He warned of a " major crisis " that " starts badly and will end badly ."

Some 20% of Americans identify as Catholic, and exit polls in November indicated that about 60% of them voted for Donald Trump.

Part of this Catholic electorate, particularly from Latin America, expresses the hope that a more conservative pope will succeed Francis, who is considered progressive on social issues.

Starting May 7, 133 cardinals from around the world, aged under 80 and therefore authorized to elect the pope, will meet for a closed-door conclave at the Vatican to choose a successor to Francis.