Donald Trump Skewered Over 'Jesus' Meme as Backlash Grows After Viral Post

Donald Trump’s latest viral moment became instant late-night material.

After the president posted an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ — surrounded by celestial light and disciples — the backlash was swift, including from within his own base. By the time Trump deleted the image, comedians had already turned it into a full-blown segment across multiple shows.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live! Kimmel approached the image like a forensic breakdown, finding humor in what he framed as glaring inconsistencies.

“The first problem I see is his hands are normal size. That’s not realistic,” Kimmel joked, zooming in on the president’s hands, which have long been a subject of public commentary.

From there, the host picked apart other oddities in the image, pointing out everything from mysterious “fight-jets” to what he described as “some sort of demogorgon from Stranger Things.” But the moment that drew the biggest reaction was his observation about a figure in the image resembling Jeffrey Epstein. “Even AI can’t keep him from his BF, Jeff!” Kimmel said.

Kimmel also highlighted the unusual fallout from the post, noting that Trump rarely deletes content.

“This little detour into messiah status did not get Trump the reaction he was hoping for from the Christian community,” he said.

When Trump later claimed the image was “supposed to be” him as a doctor, Kimmel dismissed the explanation outright: “I don’t know which is more offensive… How dumb he is, or how dumb he thinks we are.”

On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert focused less on the image itself and more on Trump’s attempt to explain it.

“So, Donald Trump wants us to believe that he thought this was a doctor,” Colbert said. “If I’m in a doctor’s office and that man walks in, I’m thinking I died.”

He leaned into the absurdity, joking, “It was clearly me as a doctor, like in my favorite movie, ‘Passion of the Doctor,’ and my favorite TV show, ‘Dr. Jesus Medicine Christ.’”

Colbert also pointed to the broader context surrounding the post, including Trump’s recent attacks on Pope Leo XIV, which he described as “long” and “unhinged.”

For communications strategist Christopher Lee, Partner at Foresight Strategic Advisors, the episode stands out because it broke through the usual cycle of outrage.

“Trump blunted the impact of late-night hosts/writers who mocked him by simply overwhelming them with material. But that strategy has its limits,” Lee explains.

“His reposting a Trump-as-Jesus meme and attacking a very popular Pope Leo handed his opponents something rare: a moment too visceral and too offensive to a too-large voting bloc to bury.”

Late-night comedy has long thrived on Trump’s unpredictability, but moments like this illustrate when a post moves beyond routine fodder.

“When a moment doesn’t just go viral,” Lee adds, “it could very well define an entire election cycle.”