CNN host Dana Bash swiftly dismissed Donald Trump’s assertion regarding an AI-generated image that seemed to portray him as Jesus Christ. Trump had claimed the image was intended to represent him as a doctor.

The former president made this statement on Monday while receiving a McDonald’s delivery from DoorDash at the White House.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, related to the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker, which we support,” Trump told reporters, just hours after removing the controversial post.

Trump attributed the backlash to “fake news,” but his explanation found few believers.

Bash offered a straightforward reaction on Monday’s episode of Inside Politics after the clip was aired by the producers.

“Just take a look, he believed this was him as a doctor,” Bash remarked to her panel as the Truth Social post was displayed. “I’m not Christian, and I see that’s Jesus.”

The image showed an imagining of the conservative cloaked in a divine light. He is seen healing a stricken man in a hospital bed as orbs of light emanate from his hands.   

‘Well, let’s also look at the hands,’ reacted CNN Senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes. ‘[They] have some kind of healing powers in them.’

CNN host Dana Bash made clear she did not buy Donald Trump’s claim that an AI image appearing to depict him as Jesus Christ actually intended to show him as a doctor on Monday

The since-deleted image showed the conservative cloaked in a divine light while healing a stricken man in a hospital bed. Orbs of light were seen emanating from his hands

She joked: ‘I don’t know. I mean, there are some incredible doctors, but I don’t know any that have healing magical powers in their hands, or religious powers.’

Holmes also said she found it ‘interesting’ Trump ‘took responsibility’ for the post ‘himself’, considering he blamed a White House staffer for a February post that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

Bash, at this point, brought up the president’s ongoing feud with Pope Leo XIV.

Trump on Sunday said he sees the religious leader as too liberal and ‘weak on crime’ for the position.

The criticism came in the form of another Truth Social post, after the US-born pontiff slammed the US’s military strikes in Iran.  

Trump stood by the second post as well after accepting his food delivery, which promoted his “no tax on tips” initiative before Tax Day, which is on Wednesday.

‘He was asked directly, “Will you apologize?”‘ ‘And he said flatly, “no,”‘ Bash said.  

The host disclaimed that she was not a Catholic but was under the impression ‘that part of the papal job is not to be in charge of crime on the streets anywhere.’

Trump aired the excuse while accepting a DoorDash McDonald’s delivery at the White House ahead of Tax Day

Bash, while overseeing an Inside Politics panel minutes later, called attention to the conservative’s conflict with the leader of the Catholic Church

‘He is a you know, he’s a spiritual leader.’

Pope Leo, 70, responded to Trump’s remarks during the first day of his trip to Africa on Monday, telling reporters he had ‘no fear of the Trump administration’. 

‘I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems,’ he said.

The US and Israel began the conflict on February 28. Pope Leo has made several general appeals for peace since.