"Trump responded to Orbán’s defeat with a long screed attacking Pope Leo XIV. ...
Today is Orthodox Easter, and about 45 minutes after attacking the Pope, Trump posted an image of himself in the place of Jesus, apparently healing a sick man in a bed, surrounded by a soldier, a nurse, a woman praying, and an older man."
~ Heather Cox Richardson
"Behind him are the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, and a giant American flag, while in the sky are two eagles, three fighter jets, soldiers, and what seems to be a monster.
Amid popular revulsion at what people are calling heresy and blasphemy, former U.S. representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote: 'It’s more than blasphemy. It’s an Antichrist spirit.'”
Here are screenshots of the postings Heather Cox Richardson is describing above:
"This morning, the President, for the second Sunday in a row, talked openly of committing war crimes in Iran.
He’s ending his day attacking the Pope, whom he refers to as 'Leo,' on Truth Social. ...
But that’s not all. Trump closed out the day by posting two images on Truth Social. One portraying Trump Tower on the Moon (presumably).
And the other depicts Trump as a god-like healer.
The president is not well."
~ Joyce Vance
"In the aftermath of Orbán’s loss, it was clear that Trump is aware of his precarious position.
After a 60 Minutes story about cardinals speaking out in the wake of Pope Leo’s statements critical of actions backed by the Trump administration, Trump lashed out at Pope Leo — the first pope born in the United States — with a deranged Truth social post declaring, 'Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.'”
~ Chris Geidner
https://www.lawdork.com/p/theyre-so-much-weaker-than-they-want
"A full-blown MAGA civil war has erupted, larger than anything we’ve seen before, after the President posted an image of himself as Jesus and then spent the night attacking the Pope. This morning, MAGA influencers, politicians, and commentators are openly denouncing him, calling this a line that should not have been crossed."
~ Aaron Parnas
https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/major-news-maga-erupts-as-trump-posts
Good morning everyone.
"Pope Leo’s election gave the world another globally influential U.S. figure who could be a foil to Trump and by extension, Vance. From now to 2028, we’re unfortunately all stuck on this runaway train as one man (Trump) attempts to usurp democracy to remain in power, another (Vance) attempts a rise to power in his own right as heir-apparent," (continued in /11)
~ Ashley Hildebrand
(continued from /11)
"and a third (Pope Leo) balances the influence that he plays on the global stage as both American and leader of the Catholic Church.
It really boils down to this: JD Vance, like so many before him, uses the trappings of the church to prop up his own agenda rather than live out the fully rounded teachings 53 million Catholic Americans learned in Sunday School."
"A Trump/Vance presidency and the threats they pose to the future bring us closer to a Christian nationalism that Paul Weyrich dreamed of and our founding fathers warned against. It’s certainly surprising, though not unwelcome, that the leader of the Catholic Church might be the best chance we have to push back against their political crusade for power."
Julie Roginsky asks:
"MAGA’s Jesus problem: What comes next, now that Trump has deified himself? …
The right is now split between people who still think Jesus Christ transcends Trump and people who have decided that impersonating Christ is fine as long as Trump is the one wearing the halo.
That tells you everything you need to know about the spiritual condition of this movement and what will come next."
As Evan Hurst reports, Trump has now deleted the graphic showing him as Jesus healing the sick, because there was extensive MAGA dismay at the graphic. Hurst surveys critical comments MAGA folks have made about the graphic.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/jesus-trump-deletes-pic-of-himself
Robyn Pennacchia notes that Pope Leo's statements about war and peace have some MAGA white evangelicals now saying they understand why questions have been raised about electing a Catholic president (like, say, Joe Biden). Megan Basham of Daily Wire writes that she doesn't want a pope dictating US foreign policy.
Pennacchia responds sarcastically:
"I guess it’s a good thing, then, that no evangelical Protestants ever weigh in on politics or try to dictate our foreign policy or try to use said foreign policy to bring about a literal apocalypse. That would be bad!"
"Though I’m not certain how 'ecumenical' it is that, again, one of their main guys thinks Catholics shouldn’t be allowed to have parades or that pretty much everyone I know who grew up in that environment also grew up believing that Catholics practice witchcraft and the Pope is the antichrist."
"CNN’s Harry Enten noted that among American Catholics, the Pope is running at a net +34 popularity rating while Trump sits at -12. American Catholics also disapprove of the Iran war by double digits."
~ Ben Meiselas
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/monday-afternoon-news-updates-blockade
Hi all, Ben here.
"Trump has seemingly admitted defeat and deleted his post portraying himself as Jesus.
Some followers described the post as blasphemous and went as far as calling him the Antichrist.
Others demanded an apology, while a number of users expressed concern about his judgment, with some suggesting the post reflected something deeper and more troubling."
~ Aaron Parnas
https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/news-trump-deletes-jesus-photo-as
We have major developments this afternoon involving President Donald Trump.
Trump is — of course — lying and pretending he thought the graphic he posted of himself as Jesus healing the sick was a picture of a Red Cross worker, and the media are pretending to believe the lie. But as Ron Filipkowski reports, beaucoup MAGA sorts were incensed at the blasphemy. Filipkowski lists some representative remarks from that crowd.
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/today-in-politics-bulletin-348-41326
Trump is — of course — lying
William Lindsey 
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