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Greene slams evangelical leader’s defense of Trump after AI Jesus post

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by Sophie Brams - 04/16/26 2:47 PM ET

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by Sophie Brams - 04/16/26 2:47 PM ET

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Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) slammed evangelical leader Franklin Graham on Thursday for defending President Trump’s since-deleted post depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure.

Graham, a close Trump ally, said in a statement on the social platform X that he did not believe Trump would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ, referencing Trump’s explanation that he thought he was being portrayed as a doctor.

He noted that he had not reached the same conclusion on the AI-generated image as other religious leaders and Catholic conservatives, some of whom labeled it as offensive and “blasphemous.”

“There were no spiritual references — no halo, there were no crosses, no angels. It was a flag, soldiers, a nurse, fighter planes, eagles, the Statue of Liberty, and I think this is a lot to do about nothing,” Graham said, arguing the criticism had devolved into “ill-intended speculation.”

“I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad,” he added.

Greene chided Graham for “making excuses” for Trump, arguing that the image of the president clad in white with a red robe over his shoulders was reminiscent of depictions of Jesus.

“Franklin Graham of all people, who is frequently at the WH and with Trump, should be leading Trump to be a Christian, NOT telling other Christians that Trump did nothing wrong when he committed blasphemy,” she said on X.

“Trump knows what he is doing. He knows what he posted. He knows how to manipulate his followers. And he’s not sorry, he never apologized. Instead he lied, and said he was a doctor, which is also absurd.”

Trump posted the controversial image on Truth Social late Sunday, as he lashed out against Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff’s criticism of U.S. military operations abroad, including the war with Iran.

Trump took the image down on Monday, claiming it had been misinterpreted and that he thought the image “had to do with the Red Cross.” He also denied that the decision to remove it was due to the criticism he had received.

Graham, the son of prominent televangelist Billy Graham, also weighed in Thursday on another AI image Trump posted of himself embracing Jesus.

“I must say that I like the fact that this is a picture of Jesus whispering in his ear, or at least His hand on his shoulder, guiding him. We all need that — we all need to be listening to Jesus,” he wrote.

“Again, I think there is an attempt to spin this into something that it isn’t. Remember, President Trump didn’t draw this, he didn’t create it, he reposted it on his social media because he thought it was nice — I would have to agree.”

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