That would be my number one choice,” he said at the time. The image shows Trump dressed in a white garment wearing a pope’s hat and a necklace with a cross hanging around his neck. He is sitting in a chair with his index finger pointed upwards.

The Trump White House had perhaps a surprising reaction to past criticism of the president by newly elected Pope Leo XIV. Before becoming pontiff, the former Robert Prevost, a native of Illinois, had reposted items critical of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on social media.