President Donald Trump has uploaded an AI-generated image of himself posing as the pope, during the mourning period for former Pope Francis, days before the Conclave begins.

The image was uploaded to his personal X account and shared by the official Whitehouse account on May 3.

The New York State Catholic Conference, who represent the bishops of the state, voiced their dismay over Trump’s mockery on X.

“There is nothing funny or clever about this image, Mr President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis,” the post said.

“Do not mock us.”

Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi posted to X over Trump’s actions.

“This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown,” he wrote.

Trump attended Pope Francis’ funeral last week to pay his respects. This was his first trip outside of America since returning to office.

The Conclave begins on Wednesday, where Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu are all in contention to become the new pope.

Photo: By White House (@WhiteHouse) found HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has been modified.