Trump Shoots Down Idea He Deleted Jesus Post Because of Riley Gaines: ‘I’m Not a Big Fan of Riley, Actually’

LEFT: (Screenshot/Truth Social) RIGHT: (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

President Donald Trump shot down the idea that he deleted his Jesus post because of criticism from MAGA darling and former college swimmer Riley Gaines, dropping the revelation that he’s “not a big fan of Riley, actually.”

On Sunday night, Trump posted the now-deleted AI-generated image of himself seemingly in the role of Jesus Christ. In the image, he dons a robe and heals a sick man with his hand as nurses and soldiers look on.

The president’s post drew backlash from many members of the conservative media, who dubbed it “blasphemous” and “unacceptable.”

Gaines, a major Trump proponent who once likened those who wish for Trump “to fail” to “domestic terrorists,” took to X to share her dismay with Trump’s post.

“Why?” she wrote. “Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”

While speaking with reporters outside the White House on Monday, Trump confirmed that he posted the image, but claimed he thought it portrayed him as a doctor, not Jesus.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor — and, had to do with Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” Trump said. “And only the fake news could come up with that one. So I just heard about it, and I said, ‘How do they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”

Trump doubled down on his interpretation of the image in a phone interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell, asserting he thought it was created by “a very beautiful, talented artist” and showed him “playing the doctor.”

“I viewed that as a picture of me being a doctor in fixing — you had the Red Cross right there, you had, you know, medical people surrounding me. And I was like the doctor, you know, as a little fun playing the doctor and making people better. So that’s what it was viewed as. That’s what most people thought.”

Nonetheless, Trump told O’Donnell that he took down the photo as a result of the “confusion” surrounding the image.

“Normally, I don’t like doing that, but I didn’t want to have anybody be confused. People were confused,” he said.

The president responded with vehement denial when asked if he took down the post due to the backlash from people like Gaines.

“I didn’t listen to Riley Gaines,” he said. “I’m not a big fan of Riley, actually.”

Gaines, who hosts The Riley Gaines Show, responded on Monday night, insisting she still loves the President and will “continue to support him and the America First agenda.”

“At the end of the day, I do nothing for the approval of man,” she wrote on X. “Our purpose on this earth is to glorify Him in all we do. The Truth Social post missed the mark. It’s now deleted. Amazing! We’re imperfect people. I know I am. I don’t get my feelings hurt easy, and I know with the President it’s really not personal. I want to spend eternity in a real place called Heaven. I’d love for Trump to be there, too. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. I’ll keep doing my part by speaking truth & doing my best to lead others to Christ.”

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