After Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025, rumors about U.S. President Donald Trump’s reaction quickly spread online. A viral image claiming Trump declared himself the new Pope was widely shared on social media, drawing mixed reactions. However, Fact Crescendo confirmed that the image was AI-generated, and the claim was made in satire.
Social Media Claim
The viral image portrays Donald Trump in papal attire, with the caption implying that he declared himself as the new Pope after Pope Francis’ death on April 21, 2025. The image posted on Facebook quickly spread across social media, with some users expressing disbelief while others believed it to be true.
For more information and specific details regarding this post, see below.
A similar image showing Donald Trump dressed as the Pope has also been shared on Facebook by multiple users over the past few days. One such post, shared on April 24, 2025, included a screenshot with the caption claiming that Donald Trump declared his intention to become the next Pope, launching a fictional “Make the Vatican Great Again” campaign.
A Facebook post claiming “Breaking News: Trump declares himself NEW POPE!” has also been circulating among other users recently.
Below is a screenshot of the claim circulated on X on April 21, 2025, stating: “ Breaking News: Trump declares himself NEW POPE! No one knows more about Poping than me.”
Given the claim’s extensive dissemination and the considerable attention, it has received from the internet community, we believed it was necessary to perform a fact-check on the above subject.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo has investigated and verification of the above claim using Google Reverse Image Search and relevant keywords, leading to the following findings:
As of April 28, 2025, there has been no official announcement or statement from U.S. President Donald Trump declaring himself the new pope. Additionally, neither CNN nor Donald Trump’s official social media accounts have published any of the claims mentioned above.
According to the AP, in reality, President Trump attended Pope Francis’s funeral at St. Peter’s Square on April 26, 2025, alongside First Lady Melania Trump and other world leaders. He paid his respects and issued a brief condolence message on his social media platform. Additionally, he ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the late pontiff.
The following video shows President Trump’s full speech, where he remembered Pope Francis as “a good man” and announced that he signed an executive order putting U.S. flags at half-mast in recognition of his passing.
According to Vatican News, Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. His death prompted an outpouring of tributes from leaders worldwide, and the Vatican is currently in the process of selecting a new Pope through a conclave of cardinals.
Fact Crescendo also found that, as reported by Reuters, tens of thousands of people streamed past the tomb of Pope Francis on Sunday, filling the Roman basilica where he had chosen to be buried, breaking with tradition. His funeral Mass was held on April 26, 2025, at St. Peter’s Square, and after the service, he was laid to rest at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome becoming the first Pope in over a century to be buried outside the Vatican.
Contrary to viral claims about the U.S. President Donald Trump declaring himself the new Pope, Reuters reports that the Vatican has announced the conclave to elect a new Pope will begin on May 7, 2025, with around 135 eligible cardinals participating in the election at the Sistine Chapel.
Reuters News Report | Archived Link
To also verify if these images were generated by artificial intelligence, we analyzed them using various AI content analysis tools. The results confirmed that the images were indeed AI-generated.
Below is a screenshot of the evaluation results from an AI content analysis website, confirming that the images were created using artificial intelligence.
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Conclusion
Fact Crescendo found that the claim attached with above-mentioned imagery is satire. Donald Trump has not declared himself the new Pope. Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, Trump paid his respects by attending the funeral in Rome, and the Catholic Church is currently in the process of selecting a new Pope.
