Donald Trump’s critics are pointing to one explanation for the president’s apparent mix-up of Jesus Christ and a Red Cross doctor: cognitive decline.
After the president, 79, was lambasted—including by some in his MAGA base—for sharing a now-deleted post depicting him as Jesus, he offered a puzzling explanation.
“It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better,” the president said of the AI-generated image on Monday afternoon.
The image, posted to Truth Social late Sunday night, portrays Trump as Christ, laying his hand on a patient in a hospital bed as if healing him. He is surrounded by other figures, including a nurse, a soldier, and a praying woman. Also visible are the U.S. flag, several bald eagles, the Statue of Liberty, and the Lincoln Memorial.
“I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” he said, adding, “Only the fake news could come up with that one.”
Many appeared unconvinced by his half-baked explanation, prompting renewed speculation about Trump’s cognitive health.
The White House did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment on the now-deleted post.
“The best-case interpretation of this is that the dementia is getting worse,” Hemant Mehta, a political commentator, shared with his over 100,000 X followers.
“He is so mentally deficient it’s nearly impossible to distinguish between his delusions and disorders on one hand, and his deceit and distractions on the other,” another user who identifies as “Duty To Warn,” piled on.
Another X user renewed calls for the 25th Amendment, which would forcibly remove the president from office.
“25th Amendment. NOW! I thought Biden was loosing it, but this is on a whole different level,” the user, who identifies as “Paddy,” wrote.
Throughout his second term, the Daily Beast has extensively reported on Trump’s declining health, as the president is seen frequently napping during Cabinet meetings, having mental slip-ups, slurring his words, and suffering from swollen ankles.
However, the president shared his Christ-like post immediately after he raged against Pope Leo XIV in a 353-word Truth Social screed, where he referred to the American pontiff as “weak” for opposing his war on Iran, and accused him of catering to the “Radical Left.”
“Leo should be thankful,” Trump raged, claiming that the Chicago-native “wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
On Monday morning, an unruffled Pope Leo responded to the president’s 334-word Truth Social screed by doubling down in his criticism of Trump and Israel’s war on Iran.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do,” the pontiff told reporters aboard the papal flight to Algiers—the start of an 11-day trip to four African countries.
When asked about Trump’s Truth Social website itself, the pope offered his own wry remark. “It’s ironic—the name of the site itself. Say no more,” he added.
