However, a review of the video footage reveals that Trump was not the only one at the funeral wearing a blue suit, and he did not appear to doze off.
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Later, Trump discussed with a reporter why he chose to attend the funeral, saying that he went “out of respect.”
“I won the Catholic vote,” Trump added. “And I think that’s the first time that ever happened for a Republican to win the vote. And I won it by a lot.”
“And I have a great relationship to the Catholics. Very simple,” Trump said with a smile. “But I won the Catholic vote.”
On Friday, Trump sparked more criticism after posting to Truth Social, without comment, an AI-generated image of himself as pope.
“I am troubled by Trump. But I’m even more troubled by the Christians who defend him,” wrote Christian author and activist Shane Claiborne. “Trump worships himself. That is called idolatry.”
“He has made the seven deadly sins into a way of life. He has repeatedly mocked the fruits of the Spirit and the Sermon on the Mount,” Claiborne continued. “I do hope that Donald Trump someday repents and comes to know Jesus as Lord…but this we can say for sure—he should not be Pope…or President.”
“Follow Jesus,” Claiborne added. “Not Trump.”
Jesuit priest and cultural commentator James Martin wrote in a post on X, “Jesuits are always supposed to give people the benefit of the doubt.”
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“So even though I find this deeply offensive, I will presume that Mr. Trump meant this light-heartedly (even though he had just recently returned from Pope Francis’s Funeral Mass, and he has a Catholic Vice President who met with Francis the day before his death),” wrote Martin. “But imagine the incandescent outrage, the swift condemnation, and the individual and joint protests from the US bishops if this had been done by Joe Biden or Barack Obama.”
, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself in papal regalia. ){kind=link}