President Trump's AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus sparked rare cross-party rejection, with even his strongest supporters turning against the post, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.
The backlash marks an unusual moment in tribal politics. Eight in ten Trump voters and 79 percent of Republicans expressed negative reactions to the image, which showed Trump in white and red robes with light emanating from his hand as he touched a sick man's forehead. Across the broader population, 87 percent of Americans had a negative response.
Trump deleted the post the morning after it was shared, later telling reporters the image depicted him as "a doctor" with a connection to the Red Cross. The image contained no such reference or clear Red Cross imagery.
The reaction extended beyond the Jesus post itself. A separate finding in the poll showed that 69 percent of Americans had a negative reaction to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's Pentagon prayer invoking "violence of action." Additionally, 66 percent reacted positively to Pope Francis urging Americans to work for peace, while the pontiff holds a favorable rating of 41 percent overall against 16 percent unfavorable.
White evangelical Protestants, typically a core Trump constituency, viewed the Jesus image most harshly, with roughly 9 in 10 expressing disapproval. Yet about 7 in 10 evangelical voters still approved of Trump's overall job performance, suggesting the controversy over the specific image did not tank broader support.
The divide underscores how Trump's religious messaging strategy is hitting limits within his own coalition. While the White House has consistently framed the president as Christianity's greatest defender, voters appear to draw a distinction between political advocacy and imagery they consider inappropriate or extreme.
This is not Trump's first stumble with AI-generated religious imagery. Weeks after Pope Francis' death, Trump shared a fake image of himself as the pope, drawing condemnation even from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who has typically been friendly to the president.
The poll was conducted April 24 to 28, 2026, among 2,560 nationally representative U.S. adults through Ipsos' KnowledgePanel, with interviews in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error stands at plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Author James Rodriguez: "When eight in ten Trump voters reject something, it's worth paying attention. This suggests his base has thresholds even culture war politics can't overcome."
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