Trump's week in review: Strait of Hormuz, Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, Jesus meme backlash

1. Trump deletes meme depicting himself as Jesus following backlash 

In a Truth Social post on April 12, Trump shared a meme of himself wearing a white robe with a red shawl, placing his hand on a bedridden man, with the clear implication that he was healing him. The supernatural imagery featured in the meme caused some Christian pastors and commentators to label the post “blasphemy,” while others said it was simply poor taste, and the president was prompted to take it down.  

While Trump deleted the post in response to the backlash, he denied that he was endorsing the depiction of himself as Jesus. Instead, he insisted that he “thought it was me as a doctor.” 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke with reporters about the meme on Tuesday and highlighted his role in getting Trump to take it down. “I talked with the president about it as soon as I saw it and told him that I don’t think it was being received in the same way he intended. He agreed and he pulled it down,” he said. “He explained how he saw that, and I don’t think he thought it was sacrilegious at all.” 

Trump posted another meme with religious imagery on his Truth Social account on Wednesday. This image depicted Jesus with his arms around Trump and was accompanied by the words, “I was never a very religious man ... but doesn’t it seem, with all these satanic, demonic, child sacrificing monsters being exposed … that God might be playing his Trump card!”