An Iranian embassy has shared an AI-generated video depicting Jesus casting Donald Trump into hell, following backlash over a controversial social media post by the US president.
Trump posted an image on Truth Social on Sunday showing himself with a glowing hand, seemingly healing a man on his knees. The post was deleted the following day after widespread criticism, with Trump stating he had not recognized its religious implications. The image had originally appeared in February, shared by author Nick Adams with the caption: “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.” Trump’s version was slightly altered.
On Tuesday, the Iranian embassy in Tajikistan posted a video that opens with the same image. In the clip, the glow from Trump’s hands fades as Jesus descends from heaven, slaps him across the face, and sends him tumbling into a fiery abyss. The video had already been circulating online before being reposted by the embassy. Similar interpretations have emerged elsewhere, with some depicting Jesus angrily expelling Trump as a “moneymaker” from the Temple of Jerusalem, echoing a well-known story from the Gospels, while others show him being punched.
Trump’s critics have used AI tools to generate multiple scenarios in which the saviour violently intervenes in the president’s life. The controversy coincided with Trump criticising Pope Leo, accusing him of being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy”—remarks that strained relations with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The typically supportive European leader described the comments as unacceptable.
The incident highlights the growing use of AI-generated content in political discourse and the sensitivities surrounding religious imagery in public debate.
