Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, didn’t hold back when criticizing Donald Trump’s recent antics, describing his behavior as ‘childish’ and taking particular issue with a controversial image he posted online. This picture, which depicted Trump in a Christ-like manner, was labeled by Badenoch as ‘preposterous’.
In one of her most stringent critiques of the former US president, Badenoch expressed her belief that Trump’s dabbling in religious iconography was downright ‘bizarre’. Yet, she was careful to strike a balance, acknowledging that while she would not shy away from calling Trump out when he was ‘wrong’, she still agreed with him on certain issues. Specifically, she noted his stance on the inadequacy of defense spending and the importance of tapping into North Sea oil and gas reserves.
Trump found himself at the center of a storm of criticism recently after he shared an AI-generated image of himself adorned in robes, hands aglow, appearing to heal a sick man. The backlash was swift and intense, prompting Trump to remove the image. He later attempted to downplay the uproar by claiming that the image was meant to represent him as a doctor, not a religious figure.
During an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Badenoch didn’t mince words, stating, “I thought it was a preposterous picture.” Her remarks underscore the ongoing tension and mixed reactions to Trump’s unconventional use of imagery in the political sphere.
He later deleted the picture, despite claiming it actually portrayed him as a doctor rather than Jesus.
Interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live this morning, Mrs Badenoch said: ‘I thought it was a preposterous picture.
Kemi Badenoch swiped at Donald Trump’s ‘childish’ behaviour today and said posting an image of himself as a Christ-like figure was ‘preposterous’
Mr Trump faced a furious backlash yesterday after posting the AI-generated image of himself in robes with his hands glowing as he healed a sick man
‘It should have been, at best, a funny joke that somebody else had done.
‘It was very bizarre seeing the president tweet it himself.
‘I’m not surprised that it’s been deleted.’
Mrs Badenoch backed the King’s state visit going ahead this month, saying ties to the US went beyond Mr Trump.
She said: ‘We’ve got to put Donald Trump to one side and actually look at the state of the world and the situation that we’re in.
‘If he’s saying something that makes sense, we should agree.
‘If he says something that doesn’t make sense, we should disagree.
‘I think he’s right to say we need to do more spending on defence.
‘He’s right to say that we should look at our own energy sources.
‘He’s wrong to make childish remarks… these empty threats on Greenland and so on, all of that’s wrong.
‘What he said about Iran, that’s wrong as well.
‘We need to be in a position where we can say yes if someone is right and no if they’re wrong, rather than just following them irrespective or never wanting to hear from them because of political ideology.’
Mr Trump posted the religious-style image amid bitter clashes with US-born Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.
Asked about the anger it had caused, the President said: ‘It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better.
‘And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.’
Donald Trump speaks with reporters outside the Oval Office at the White House yesterday
Pope Leo XIV arrives at the El Mouradia Presidential Palace in Algiers yesterday
Speaking about the post, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe told BBC Newsnight: ‘I thought it was just quite frankly bizarre.
‘People have often said that they think that it’s blasphemous.
‘I think that implies an attack on Christianity, which President Trump I don’t think intended, but it does show a complete misunderstanding of what Christianity is about.’
Asked about Mr Trump saying the image depicted him as a doctor, Cardinal Radcliffe added: ‘I find it very strange.
‘I’ve met many doctors in my life and none of them have glowed quite like that.’
