WASHINGTON — A Democratic pastor in the Senate sounded off on his Republican colleagues on Tuesday for trying to give President Donald Trump cover for his "telling" social media post.
Last week, Trump posted and then deleted an artificial intelligence-generated photo of himself appearing as Jesus healing a sick man lying in bed. It also includes the Statue of Liberty, an American flag, and people representing military members. The photo was posted on the same day Trump attacked the Pope on social media, calling him "weak" on crime and foreign policy. The posts sparked outrage from a bipartisan group of lawmakers and political commentators. Trump claimed he did not recognize the Christian iconography in the photo.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a Baptist pastor, told Raw Story in an exclusive interview that Trump's post is blasphemous, and that the way some Republicans have responded is "very telling."
"It's blasphemy!" Warnock said. "And it's very telling that those who speak for him and claim to be Christian preachers continue to do so."
Trump was sharply criticized by several prominent MAGA figures after he posted the AI-generated photo of himself. For instance, Riley Gaines said Trump "missed the mark" while Sean Feucht, a Christian nationalist pastor, called on Trump to remove the post "immediately."
However, some of Trump's allies in Congress appear to be giving the president some cover on the issue. Raw Story spoke with Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rick Scott (R-FL) on Tuesday, both of whom had little to say about the picture.
"What I read is that he thought that it made him look like a doctor," Scott said.
Johnson offered a simple "no comment" when asked about Trump's picture.
Warnock noted that Trump's photo also appeared to undercut the moral high ground he is trying to hold in the war in Iran.
"Donald Trump threatening to drop bombs on civilians on Easter Sunday morning is the opposite of the moral high ground, and in that same tweet, he ridiculed Islam, and two weeks later, he is making a mockery of Christian faith," Warnock said. "Whatever it is, Donald Trump is clearly not a man of faith, and those who continue to claim so are shameless."
